Former India middle-order mainstay Yuvraj Singh on Tuesday (May 12) raised questions over India batting coach Vikram Rathour's ability to guide Indian cricketers in the T20 format.
Notably, Rathour had replaced Sanjay Bangar as the batting coach in 2019. "He (Rathour) is my friend ... Do you think he can help players of this T20 generation? Has he played cricket at the level to help them?" Yuvraj said during an instagram session.
Rathour represented India in just six Tests and seven ODIs for India between 1996 and 1997.
Yuvraj remarked that it is important ro deal with a player on the basis of his personality. "If I was coach I'll tell goodnight to (Jasprit) Bumrah at 9pm and take Hardik (Pandya) out for a drink at 10pm ... That's how you deal with different personalities," he said.
Taking a veiled dig at current coach Ravi Shastri, Yuvraj, who retired from international cricket in 2019, said, "The current guys have no one to talk to and take advice. I don't know if Ravi is doing it but maybe he has others things in his hand. Anyway, you can't tell everyone just 'go out and play your game, express yourself', this approach may work with someone like Sehwag ... But this will never work with Pujara ... So these things the coaching staff need to realise."
Yuvraj, 38, also predicted that all-rounder Hardik Pandya could break his fastest T20 fifty record. "Hardik Pandya could be the guy who breaks my record of fastest T20 fifty ... He has all the making of being a great all-rounder ... But then again you need to have someone to guide him in the team," he noted.
Remembering his time playing for different teams in the Indian Premier League, Yuvraj said he never liked playing for Kings XI Punjab:
"I wanted to run away from Kings XI Punjab ... The management didn't like me there ... They did nothing I asked them to do ... And when I left they bought all the players I had been asking them to. I love Punjab but I did not like the running of the franchise," he said.
