‘I don’t think he deserves a place…’ – Former India batter Yuvraj Singh makes a shocking statement about star India allrounder’s place in white ball cricket

Yuvraj Singh, the iconic former Indian all-rounder, recently expressed his views on the Indian team and his emotions for the Men in Blue. He also spoke about Ravichandran Ashwin’s place in his white-ball cricket career. Yuvraj believes the seasoned spinner “doesn’t deserve” a place in India’s T20I and ODI squads.

Despite Ashwin’s remarkable success in Test cricket, Yuvraj emphasised that the demands of limited-overs formats require a different set of skills that Ashwin may not bring to the table. In a candid interview with the Times of India, Yuvraj Singh acknowledged Ashwin’s prowess as a red-ball cricketer but pointed out the shortcomings in his contributions with the bat and on the field in white-ball formats.

Yuvraj stated, “Ashwin is a great bowler, but I don’t think he deserves a place in ODIs and T20s. He is very good with the ball, but what does he bring with the bat? Or as a fielder? On the test team, yes, he should be there. But in white-ball cricket, I don’t think he deserves a place.”

Ravichandran Ashwin has praised Yuvraj Singh

Having shared the field with Ashwin during India’s victorious 2011 ODI World Cup campaign, Yuvraj Singh has first-hand experience of the spinner’s abilities. Despite his critique of Ashwin’s limited-overs suitability, Yuvraj has acknowledged Ashwin’s positive impact on Indian cricket, especially during challenging times. Ashwin, in turn, has spoken highly of Yuvraj’s contributions, particularly in light of the health crisis Yuvraj faced.

In a poignant revelation on his YouTube channel, Ashwin shared his shock upon learning about Yuvraj’s battle with cancer. “Yuvi used to cough, and he used to cough vehemently. I used to think that it was the pressure of the game, and he was coughing it off, and he used to cough in the middle. Nobody had any idea, at least from the junior segment of the team, that he was suffering from a serious illness,” Ashwin said.

“When it broke out (the news of Yuvraj having cancer), I was shocked because I did not expect somebody who had just become Player of the Series; in fact, like I would say, ‘Bharat ka Icon’. That was it. I think Sachin Tendulkar played an unbelievably big role in Yuvraj Singh’s World Cup. I call it Yuvraj Singh’s World Cup because you name it, he was there in that situation in the centre,” Ashwin added.