2/27/2015 A look at the Yuvraj Singh-MS Dhoni relationship over the years

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MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh after the 2011 World Cup final

The 2007 World T20 was a turning point in the careers of two important Indian cricketers – Yuvraj Singh and

MS Dhoni. The former established himself as a match winner with blistering knocks while the latter made a

mark with his captaincy by winning the tourney as a debutant captain.

A lot has happened over the years and what blooms now, is a question mark on one’s career while the other

has been blamed for it. Has the friendship that prevailed on and off the field between the two grown into

enmity? Has the duo that finished matches for India on a winning note broken apart? Has the partnership that

was a nightmare for the opposition come to an end?

Feb 26 2015Cricket / Opinion

A look at the Yuvraj Singh-MSDhoni relationship over the years

Karthik

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With all sorts of questions circling round and round in the minds of many, it is time to go back to 2007 and

slowly proceed until 2015 and analyze the bond between the two..

The victorious 2007 World T20 campaign

The victorious Team India

It was 2005 when Dhoni marked his entry into Indian cricket and Yuvraj revived from a dip in his form. Dhoni

climbed through the ranks to become the number one ODI batsman after some consistent performances. A

jaw-dropping fact is that he has never moved out of the top 10 since then. Both played some crucial knocks

over the next 2 years, but the stage was not so well set for the inaugural World T20 in South Africa.

With India playing without a coach and also under a new captain, India progressing to the final and clinching

the title was like a bolt from the blue. While Dhoni proved his captaincy skills in the tournament, Yuvraj spoke

with his bat, thrashing mighty bowlers out of the park. Who will forget the six sixes by Yuvraj off Stuart Broad’s

over?

The then Indian ODI captain Rahul Dravid resigned, following which it was again Dhoni who was selected to

lead the ODI side. With big guns like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in the side, Yuvraj was selected

as the vice-captain of the team. Yuvraj was awarded the ‘Man of the Series’ gag in the victory against

Pakistan at home. The first signs of chaos rose in 2008 when there were speculations that there was a rift in

the dressing room because Dhoni was named the captain.

Trouble in paradise?

Yuvraj, at the time, said, “I think things like rivalry and confrontations are talks stirred up by the media. Me and

Dhoni are very good friends and help each other at any time because we understand how the game has to be

2/27/2015 A look at the Yuvraj Singh-MS Dhoni relationship over the years

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played.”

However, he did confess he wanted to captain the side some day. The next few years saw the duo rise as

two of the best finishers of the game. Together, they shared vital stands for India, leading the team to glory.

The Partnership

Yuvraj Singh (L) and MS Dhoni take a run during their 148-run partnership against Australia

Their partnership statistics can do all the talking, with them having added 3916 runs together in all formats of

the game. This includes 11-century stands and 19 half-century stands at an impressive average of 48.34. 5

out of their 11-century stands have come against arch-rivals Pakistan.

They have remained not out 11 times together with their highest partnership being 158. It came against

Zimbabwe in 2005 when half of the team was sent back to the pavilion with the score at 91, requiring 159

more to win. Yuvraj batted brilliantly and scored a fluent 120 off 124 balls. He was matched shot by shot by his

partner Dhoni who scored an unbeaten 67 off 63 balls. They have shared a 100-run stand in two consecutive

matches thrice in their ODI career.

Some of their indispensable run-stands include:

102* vs Pakistan in 2006 when India were standing derailed at 190/5, requiring 99 runs more to win an ODI.

148 vs Australia in 2009 after India were reduced to 53/3, needing 177 runs more to win an ODI.

102* vs Australia in 2013. This T20 match was a second comeback for Yuvraj after he was diagnosed with a

rare kind of cancer. It looked like a Himalayan task to chase down 202 in 20 overs and after losing three

important wickets, things got spiced up. Yuvraj arrived at the crease and was expected to proceed with the

2/27/2015 A look at the Yuvraj Singh-MS Dhoni relationship over the years

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huge run chase, a job that he had done many times in the past in ODIs with Dhoni for company. Yuvraj

slammed 77 off 35 balls while Dhoni supported him with a 21-ball 24. They added 102 in just 53 balls, sealing

the match for India.

Last, but not the least, their 54-run partnership from just 42 balls against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup

final made sure that India emerged as the world champions. Dhoni’s 91 off 79 balls and Yuvraj’s rapid 21

finished off things in style.

Enjoying success together

In the span of 4 years between 2007 and 2011, India achieved a lot under the captaincy of Dhoni, which

include a few notables ones like the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia (2008), Asia Cup in 2010 and

India becoming the number one Test team in the world. Not only did the captain lead his side to victory but

also supported and provided encouragement for players under him. Yuvraj, who was not in fine form before

the World Cup, was backed by the Indian skipper during the tournament. As a result of that and hard work,

Yuvraj was India’s ‘backbone’ during the big tournament.

Dhoni and Yuvraj have not only been partners on the field but also off the field, where their friendship has

done the talking. Interviews and press meets over the years show how they have supported each other. In the

press conference after the World Cup final, Yuvraj referred to Dhoni as one of the greatest captains that India

have ever had and added that Sourav Ganguly and Dhoni have helped him a lot in his career.

Their moral support and respect for each other has been prevalent since a long time. Dhoni has confessed

that he learnt a lot from Yuvraj including passion for the game, determination and controlled aggression while

in return Yuvraj admires Dhoni’s captaincy, consistency, hard work and the down-to-earth nature and has

called him as ‘a good human being’.

Tough phases for Dhoni and Yuvraj

2/27/2015 A look at the Yuvraj Singh-MS Dhoni relationship over the years

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Yuvraj Singh looking dejected in the presentation ceremony after the 2014 World Cup final

Yuvraj had a tough phase in his career in the aftermath of the World Cup and things have not been smooth till

date. After a fight with cancer, he returned to the national side in 2012. On the other hand, after suffering

humiliating defeats at the hands of Australia and England overseas, Dhoni’s Test captaincy was under

criticism. In 2013, India clinched the Champions Trophy under Dhoni, who became the only captain to have all

ICC trophies under his belt.

Much was expected from the Indian side in the 2014 World Cup and they ended up as the runners-up.

Yuvraj’s slow knock in the finals was said to have cost them the trophy as a result of which his house was

pelted with stones. Dhoni, on being questioned about Yuvraj, backed the out of form player, stating that the

Punjab cricketer was trying his best out in the middle and added that he did not want to speak about the

selection process with domestic leagues coming up.

Yuvraj had a decent IPL in 2014 after he was bought for Rs. 14 crores by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

There were question marks over his future after he was excluded in the list of 30 probables for the Indian

World Cup squad. In the meanwhile, Dhoni announced a sudden retirement from Tests towards the end of

2014.

With the date for the final World Cup squad announcement approaching, back-to-back centuries and decent

knocks in the Ranji beamed in a ray of hope for Yuvraj to find a place in the squad but the selection

committee stuck to 15 players who were already in the earlier selected list.

Yuvraj’s father criticism of Dhoni

2/27/2015 A look at the Yuvraj Singh-MS Dhoni relationship over the years

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Report Error

Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj Singh

Criticisms did pop up again, but it all got heated up later on February 16, two days after the World Cup had

commenced when Yuvraj’s father and former cricketer Yograj Singh slammed Dhoni, accusing him of being

the reason behind Yuvraj’s exclusion from the team. It was on the same day Yuvraj was bought by Delhi

Daredevils for a whopping Rs. 16 crores in the IPL auctions.

Yograj’s statements created a controversy among fans while Yuvraj took to Twitter and cooled up things by

saying: “Like every parent my dad is also passionate and I am sure got carried away always enjoyed

playing under Mahi (MS Dhoni) and would do so in future.”

Like every parent my dad is also passionate and I am sure got carried away always

enjoyed playing under Mahi n would do so in future

2:40 PM - 16 Feb 2015

yuvraj singh

@YUVSTRONG12

Follow

3,091 RETWEETS 3,651 FAVORITES

When one looks up to the dictionary for cricket, controversy always comes on top. This topic, for one, has

been turned into an open-ended question seeking various answers. Is Dhoni the person really behind it? Can

we see a Yuvi-MSD partnership again? Will the cricketing world see Yuvraj back in national colours for one

last time? Anything can happen in the ‘Gentleman’s Game’.

2/27/2015 A look at the Yuvraj Singh-MS Dhoni relationship over the years

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Avijit Das Patnaik · · Top Commenter · Consumer Banking Ops (Regional) at DBS Bank. Living,

Breathing Asia

In commonwealth series 2008 Yuvi was out of form but MSD kept backing and one day even told press 'as long asam captain Yuvi will start'. MSD if he wanted cudve finished Yuvi the player had he taken the Deepika loss to ego.Yuvi was anyways self destructing after losing captaincy but MSD held firm and backed Yuvi to come back to hisbest. 2011 was YuvI's World Cup.

Reply · Like · · Follow Post · about an hour ago

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Hassnain Zami · · Real Estates sales executive at DLF IT Park 2, Rajarhat, Kolkata

Lets CUT des CRAPS! These two legends have given honour to the game as well as to the nation.. they had watchtheir backs in past and will surely do their best for glorifing the #GENTLEMAN'S GAME.

Reply · Like · Follow Post · 5 minutes ago

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Kunal Shah · · Top Commenter · New York, New York

why is there no mention of Deepika Padukone who was dating Yuvraj Singh and then dumped him for Dhoni! sheeventually dumped Dhoni too and moved on to Baby Mallya!

Reply · Like · Follow Post · 3 hours ago

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Jagannath Nayak · · Top Commenter · CEO & Founder at RJnetwork

Dhoni was never dating Deepika, as he had his own lover and now she became her life partner. Theirrelationship was from childhood. If you don't know anything then please shut your bloody mouth.

Reply · Like · · 3 hours ago

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Augustine Glarence · Core Committee Member at American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) VIT Student Chapter

Never knew that they shared lot of good partnerships till now. Good article

Reply · Like · Follow Post · 2 hours ago

Shashidhar Hiremath K · · UAS,GKVK,Bangalore

Good eye opener.

Reply · Like · Follow Post · 3 hours ago

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