Yograj Singh is a retired Indian pacer and the father of one of the biggest names in Indian cricketing, the all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. He is a well-known critic of some of the most prominent names in the world of cricket. The 67 year old has often accused MS Dhoni of abusing his son during his tenure as the captain of the Indian team. However, in a recent interview, Yograj has vented his views on Virat Kohli by claiming that the Delhi batsman was never the pal of Yuvraj.
Yuvraj Singh played 402 international matches for India from 2000 to 2017, scoring 11,178 runs at an average of 35.05, with 17 centuries and 71 fifties. In all three formats, he also claimed 148 wickets. Yograj called the two former India captains “backstabbers” and claimed that players like Dhoni and Kohli were afraid of losing their jobs to Yuvraj.
“As I told you, there are no friends in the sphere of success, money and glory. There were always backstabbers, people who wanted to put you down. People were scared of Yuvraj Singh because they were afraid where he would usurp their seats because he was such a great player created by the God Almighty. He has been the greatest of players, who they were scared – right from MS Dhoni, everybody – ‘oh he might take my chair,” said Yograj while speaking to InsideSport.
Yuvraj’s only friend on the Indian squad, according to Yograj, was the renowned Sachin Tendulkar. The former commended the Master Blaster’s compassionate manner.
Yuvraj was part of the Indian team that won the 2011 ODI World Cup, the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2002 champions trophy (jointly with Sri Lanka). He spent the best part of his life under the guidance of Dhoni playing cricket on behalf of his country. India was referred to as the Men in Blue over the first half of 2017, with Kohli selected as their all-format captain.
Yuvraj last played an international match of cricket on June 30, 2017, at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, against the West Indies. On June 10, 2019, the 37-year-old Chandigarh native announced that he was retiring both from the domestic and international competitions in the field of cricket.
