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'I wasn’t getting enough support from the team'- Yuvraj Singh owns up to his 2014 T20 WC struggles

Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has lamented on lack of support from the team management during the second half of his career. Yuvraj, one of India's greatest match-winners in limited-overs cricket, returned to international cricket in 2012 after successfully defeating cancer.


However, he wasn't the same player he once was, and the southpaw endured one of the lowest points of his career when he played a match-losing knock of 11 off 21 deliveries in the 2014 T20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka. Singh was heavily criticised for the same and eventually dropped from the ODI and T20I teams.


However, Singh has now revealed that he didn't receive any support from the captain and coach at the time. Speaking on 'Home of Heroes' on Sports18, Yuvraj said:


"During the T20 World Cup in 2014, I was very low on confidence. There was an atmosphere that I could get dropped. It's not an excuse but I wasn't getting enough support from the team. From the time of Gary, I was in Duncan's era and things had completely changed in the team," 


Yuvraj eventually earned a recall to the T20I and ODI team in 2016 but was dropped for good a year later. Drawing parallels to the amount of support that MS Dhoni got from Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri between 2017-19, the southpaw reckoned that he, and his fellow teammates like Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir didn't receive the same.


"Definitely when you have support from the coach and the captain it helps. Look at Mahi (MS Dhoni) towards the end of his career. He had so much support from Virat and Ravi Shastri. They took him to the World Cup, he played till the end, and went on to play 350 games. I think support is very important, but in Indian cricket, everybody will not get support," he opined.


"There have been great players like Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir who didn't get that (support). When you are batting out there and you know that the axe is hanging on your head, how will you concentrate and bat and give your best? It is not an excuse but with different coaches and after 2011, times are very different," Yuvraj added.


Yuvraj eventually called time on his international career in July 2019. He represented India in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, scoring 1900, 8701 and 1177 runs, respectively, besides claiming 148 international wickets.

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Kapil Dev cites examples of Tendulkar, Kambli careers to warn budding cricketers

Kapil Dev is one of the greatest all-rounders to have ever played for India. He was the first captain to lead India to a World Cup victory in 1983. The world cup-winning Indian skipper's international cricket career spanned from 1978 to 1994, representing his country in 131 Test and 225 ODI matches. In a recent interaction, the former Indian skipper stressed the importance of hard work in cricket. Dev drew a comparison between Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli to make the youngsters aware of what dedication and hard work can do to one's career. The 'Master Blaster' needs no introduction as he is regarded as the best batter to have ever graced the game. Kapil credited Sachin's zeal for consistently working hard to improve as one of the reasons behind his magnificent career. On the other hand, Kambli was a renowned name in the 90s after making a blistering start in international cricket. The batter scored a truckload of runs for his team at a young age in the Mumbai circuit. However, he soon lost his form and faded away from the people's memory. Kambli represented India in 17 Tests and 104 One-Day Internationals, scoring 1084 and 2477 runs, respectively. "Sometimes, youngsters take up something to impress others. I believe that it is important to love yourself first and bring passion to whatever you like. There are no substitutes for passion, hard work, and commitment. Sachin Tendulkar is the perfect example of talent plus hard work. If you are talented but not hard-working enough, then you can go the Vinod Kambli way. If your destiny is beautiful, why worry about the road ahead," Kapil told Hindustan Times. Further in the interaction, the Indian legend also walked through his journey in the cricket world. Also, he advised the players to do something that they are passionate about. "I don't believe in speaking much and I have always been a man of action. I believe that if you are passionate enough, you can achieve anything. While practising as a youngster, I would play for hours and I wouldn't know the difference between day and night. I would wonder why I couldn't carry on playing at night. When you love something, you forget about the time and everything else," the former Indian skipper concluded.

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‘Jos Buttler is the one who hurt us in that game’ - Andre Russell reflects on fixture against Rajasthan Royals

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who are currently in eighth place on the points table, will face Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. It's KKR's final match at this venue. Also, this is a crucial match for them to keep their playoff hopes alive. Retained KKR all-rounder Andre Russell believes his team can beat the Royals, who are currently in the 3rd place at the points table of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The West Indies cricketer stated they could even break their five-match losing streak. The Knight Riders had a terrific start to the IPL 2022 season, winning three of their first four games. However, after a promising start, the team has lost five of their last six games. Moreover, the Shreyas Iyer-led side has struggled to produce consistent performance in all departments. Meanwhile, Russell - the only consistent Knight this season - thinks Kolkata will have to play smarter to keep pressure on the Rajasthan. "Now that we have played them, we know what their attack will be looking like. We know what their bowlers will look to do and who we need to focus on," Russell told Star Sports. "Jos Buttler is the one who hurt us in that game. We are not going in the game focusing on just Jos Buttler because if it's not his day, we can't get him out cheaply, celebrate big and pretend that we have won the game," he added further. Russell believes they should click as a team in the remaining games, and they need to build winning momentum to reach the IPL 2022 playoffs, admitting that Kolkata could have won some of the games they lost. "We have lost a few games that should have got us two points. Not saying that we are dwelling on the past but I think it's not a long tournament. With 14 games, they keep coming at you. Once you gain that winning momentum, it's very important and that's what we are basically searching for right now," the hard-hitting all-rounder suggested. "We have to be a bit more fearless in terms of decision-making. We have to do whatever it takes to do something different and get those two points. We all have to come together as a unit and do it," Russell signed off.