‘People forget what they have…’ - Yuvraj Singh bats for under pressure duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Former Indian cricket legend Yuvraj Singh has come out in support of under-fire veteran duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The 43-year-old has urged the fans to back Rohit and Virat amidst their bad form and not forget their past achievements with the bat. Both veteran players are under the pump for their bad run of form with the bat in recent times. 

Yuvraj Singh, who is currently in Dubai, spoke to PTI and said, "I look at what India has achieved in the last 5-6 years. They have achieved two back-to-back victories in Australia. I don't remember any team doing that. People are criticising Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli a lot, but people forget what they have achieved in the past. They are two of the greatest cricketers of this time. It's ok they lost; they are more hurt than us. I am sure India will bounce back.”

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to feature in the three-match ODI series at home against England. It is the only series India will play before the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament, starting in February. Both batters have an amazing record in the fifty-over format and have been match-winners with the bat for India. 

Yuvraj Singh expresses hurt at successive series losses

During his chat with PTI, Yuvraj Singh went on to express the loss to New Zealand at home as more hurtful than the away series in Australia. The 43-year-old said, “More than the defeat in Australia, the loss to New Zealand should hurt us more because we lost 0-3 at home. That is not acceptable. It's fine; we lost in Australia after winning twice. Australia has been a dominant side for so many years."

Yuvraj also lauded Rohit Sharma for sitting out the final Test at the SCG owing to poor form. "It's a big thing. I have not seen in the past that a captain is out of form and he opted out of the playing XI. It is Rohit Sharma's greatness that he kept the team ahead of himself. He's a great captain; whether he wins or loses, he will always be a great captain. In his captaincy, we played the World Cup final, we won the T20 World Cup, we achieved a lot."

Finally speaking about the future of Indian cricket, Yuvraj said, “Gautam Gambhir as coach, Ajit Agarkar as selector, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, they are the best minds in cricket right now. And they have to decide what the future of Indian cricket is. I am sure this will be discussed with BCCI and taken into consideration that what is the best way for India to move forward.”