Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh has revealed that supporting Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar during his tussle with then head coach Greg Chappell cost him India's captaincy.
Yuvraj was the vice-captain of India during the captaincy reign of Rahul Dravid.
Dravid resigned from leadership duties following the culmination of the 2007 England tour. In his place, MS Dhoni was appointed captain of the ODI team in addition to the T20I squad, which was leading in the inaugural T20 World in South Africa.
Yuvraj was four years senior to Dhoni in international cricket, and understandably, he was taken aback when the Ranchi cricketer was named captain for the inaugural edition.
Speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on Sports18, Yuvraj claimed that his decision to support Sachin during his tussle with Chappell didn't go down with some BCCI officials.
"I was supposed to be the captain. Then the Greg Chappell incident happened. It had become Chappell or Sachin. I was probably the only player who supported…that I support my teammate. And there were a lot of people in the…Some of the BCCI officials did not like that. It was said that they should make anybody the captain but not myself. This is what I heard,"
Sachin and Chappell had differences over the former's batting position during the Australian's acrimonious tenure for the uninitiated. While Chappell wanted Sachin to bat in the middle-order, Tendulkar was reluctant.
Yuvi also mentioned that Sehwag was made Dhoni's deputy, although the swashbuckling opener had not been a part of the Indian squad for the England tour.
"I am not sure how true it is. Suddenly from vice-captaincy, I was removed. Sehwag was not there in the team. So, out of nowhere, Mahi became captain for the 2007 T20 World Cup. I thought I was going to be the captain," he added.
However, the legendary southpaw insisted that he does not have any regrets as Dhoni did a brilliant job as captain.
"Viru (Virender Sehwag) was senior, but he was not on the England tour. I was the vice-captain of the ODI team, while Rahul (Dravid) was the captain. So, I became the vice-captain. Obviously, it was a decision that went against me, but I have no regrets about it. Today, if the same thing happens, I will still support my teammate," signed off Yuvi.
Yuvraj played some of his best cricket under Dhoni. The stylish southpaw was central to India's title-winning campaigns in 2007 T20 WC and the 2011 50-over World Cup.
His six sixes against England and a whirlwind 30-ball 70 against Australia in the semi-final of the 2007 event, and all-around performance in 2011 have immortalised him amongst world cricket legends.
Yuvraj called time on his international career in July 2019.