Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh has come out in support of Rohit Sharma, despite the continuous losses the team has suffered under his leadership. While describing the 3-0 whitewash by New Zealand as a “tougher pill to swallow”, Yuvraj spoke about Sharma’s achievements as captain, including winning the T20 World Cup last year and the IPL trophy five times.
Team India, under Rohit Sharma‘s leadership, have suffered some crushing defeats since the 2024 T20 World Cup, including their first series loss to New Zealand in over a decade and the loss of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. India also failed to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship this year.
Yuvraj Singh defends Rohit Sharma:
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Yuvraj said, “I always look at the team graph over a five-year period or three years. Gautam has just come into the system, he needs more time. Rohit Sharma has won the T20 World Cup as captain, he was captain when India played the ODI World Cup final. He led MI (Mumbai Indians) to five IPL titles.”
The former left-hander also lauded Rohit for dropping himself from the Indian XI during the 5th and last match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, saying, “The guy has stepped down from the last match and given somebody else a chance. How many captains have done that in the past? Please tell me,” he asked.
Yuvraj also stressed the need to talk a little more about some landmark performances by Indian youngsters in Australia during the recently concluded BGT series, including those of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“Nitish scored a hundred on his first tour, it is amazing. Not sure how many have done that. Jaiswal scored 150 plus in his first Test in Australia, it is highly commendable. We should talk about these performances more,” Yuvraj stated.
