AGENCY
New Delhi: One of Indian cricket’s eternal comeback men Yuvraj Singh today hailed Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to quit limited-overs captaincy as he feels that they can now conjure up the magic of good old days and enthrall the fans with their “fearless brand of cricket”.
“It will be like the old days playing with him (Dhoni) when we had started. Obviously, I started much before him (Yuvraj made his India debut in 2000 and Dhoni in 2004) but back then we were fearless when we used to play together. We can do the same this time, in the upcoming series,” Yuvraj told bcci.tv today.
Having been an integral part of the Dhoni-led World Cup winning teams (2007 and 2011), Yuvraj was very respectful of his contribution to Indian cricket as a player and a captain.
“We were the No 1 side, won two World Cups and I think these are like amazing achievements. I am not sure how many captains have that. He has been very calm and composed.
“I think he took a very good decision in stepping down as he must have felt that the next guy to take over and build the team for 2019
World Cup and saw that in Virat. I believe he still has a lot to contribute in this team as a player.”
Making his fifth comeback to the team in all these years, Yuvraj feels that new incumbent Virat Kohli inspires others with his own performances. v”Talking about Virat Kohli, I have seen him grow up in front of my eyes as a youngster and was always getting better and better. What’s special about Virat is that he commands performance. He has been very consistent throughout his career and that fire and consistency has converted him into a very good captain.
“I think that is what he demands from the team all the time. 100 percent commitment and that’s the hallmark of a good captain. Every year he gets better with his performances. He I think sets his own goals tries to get better with every performance.
“Earlier, he (Kohli) used to get lot of runs, converted them into hundreds and then this year he has started getting double hundreds. I don’t know, who averages over 50 in all three formats. Hopefully, Virat continues that and takes India to the next level,” Yuvraj said. (PTI)
