Former batter Robin Uthappa indirectly blamed Virat Kohli for shortening Yuvraj Singh’s international career after his cancer recovery, claiming that the all-rounder’s request for fitness concessions was denied by the then India captain. Yuvraj, one of India’s top white-ball players, played a key role in the team’s World Cup victories under MS Dhoni. However, after the 2011 ODI World Cup win, he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent treatment in the US.
Yuvraj made an inspiring recovery after battling cancer and fought his way back into the Indian team, even scoring a century against England in an ODI. However, after a quiet performance in the 2017 Champions Trophy, he was overlooked and ultimately chose to retire in 2019.
In an interview with ‘Lallantop,’ Uthappa shared his perspective, saying, “Take Yuvi Pa’s case. The man beat cancer and was trying to return to the international team. He was the one who helped us win two World Cups, playing a key role in both. Yet, after all that, when you become captain, you say his lung capacity has decreased, and you’ve seen him struggle. Nobody has told me this, I just observe things.”
Uthappa continued, “You’ve seen him struggle, and as captain, yes, you must maintain standards, but there are always exceptions. This man deserves to be one, not just because he helped us win tournaments, but because he fought and beat cancer. He overcame life’s hardest challenge. So why question his place?”
He went on to explain that Yuvraj asked for a two-point deduction in the fitness test but was denied leniency by the team management. Despite this, Yuvraj passed the test, made his comeback, but was dropped after a poor performance in the Champions Trophy.
“When Yuvi requested that two-point deduction, he didn’t get it. He took the test, passed it, and returned to the team. But after a lean tournament, he was dropped, and no one entertained him after that,” Uthappa said.
He further mentioned that during this time, Virat Kohli, as the captain, had a significant influence on the team’s decisions. “Whoever was in the leadership group didn’t support him. Virat was the leader then, and it went according to him because of his strong personality,” Uthappa noted.
When talking about Kohli’s leadership, Uthappa described him as a ‘my way or the highway’ type of captain. “I haven’t played much under Virat as captain, but he was very much a ‘my way or the highway’ type of leader. It’s not that others aren’t like that, but it’s also about how you treat your team and your personnel because it’s not just about the results.”