World Cup-winning former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has stated that being whitewashed at home by New Zealand was a bigger setback for Team India than their loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but refused to join the chorus of criticism against embattled veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
India have endured a difficult few months in Test cricket, first suffering a 0-3 defeat to an under-strength New Zealand side at home, an unprecedented result in the team's Test history, followed by a 1-3 drubbing by Australia in the away edition of the Border-Gavaskar series.
Both debacles have largely been attributed to the team’s batting frailties, particularly those of Rohit and Kohli.
"According to me, losing to New Zealand is more hurting. Because they are losing 3-0 at home. You know, that is not acceptable. This (losing BGT) is still acceptable because you have won two times in Australia. And this time you lost," Yuvraj told PTI Videos in an interview here.
"Australia has been a dominant side for the last so many years, that is my thought," added the 43-year-old hero of India’s 2011 World Cup triumph.
While Kohli managed at least one hundred during the series, despite continuing to be dismissed outside the off-stump, Rohit fared worse, scoring just 31 runs and eventually dropping himself from the final Test.
However, Yuvraj defended the duo, stating it is unfair to criticise them given their past achievements.
"We are talking about our greats, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. We are saying very bad things about them," he said.
"...people forget what they have achieved in the past. They are one of the greatest cricketers of this time. Okay, they lost, they did not play good cricket. They are getting hurt more than us," he added.
Expressing confidence in India’s ability to bounce back, Yuvraj said he has full faith not just in Rohit and Kohli but also in newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, his former teammate.
"I feel that Gautam Gambhir as a coach, Ajit Agarkar as a selector, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah—they are the best minds in cricket right now," he asserted.
"And they have to decide what's the way for Indian cricket in future," he said.
The former batting all-rounder also praised Rohit for his selfless decision to drop himself from the Sydney Test due to poor form.
"I think it is a big thing. I have never seen in the past that the captain's form is not going well and he himself has gone out. And this is Rohit Sharma's greatness that he has kept the team ahead of himself," Yuvraj said.
"I think he is a great captain. Whether win or lose, he will always be a great captain. And in his captaincy, we have played the (ODI) World Cup final. We won a T20 World Cup. We have achieved a lot," he pointed out.
Urging critics to exercise restraint while assessing the team’s performance, Yuvraj highlighted the importance of supporting struggling players instead of tearing them down.
"I was a student of the game and now I am a student of the game. The amount of cricket I have played, they have played more cricket than me," said the man who played 304 ODIs, 40 Tests and 58 T20 Internationals for India, amassing 11,000 runs across formats.
"I can give my opinion. And my opinion is that when players are not performing, it is easy to say bad about them. But it is very difficult to support them. Media's job is to say bad about them. My job is to support my friends and brothers. For me, they are my family. Simple," he signed off.
