'That title gives us respect': Harbhajan Singh explains why Yuvraj Singh 'would have been a great Indian captain'

Harbhajan also talked about on whether the careers of some of the players would have been longer had Yuvraj been the skipper.

Exactly a month ago, former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh had made an explosive statement on how he was in line to be the next Indian captain, but missed the chance after backing his teammates in the Chappell controversy. While his former teammate and India legend Harbhajan Singh refrained from talking about the controversy, he opined on the possibility of Yuvraj being the captain and explained why he would have ended up being a great leader.

Harbhajan Singh with Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj has had an illustrious cricketing career for India, having been part of two World Cup-winning teams - the 207 inaugural T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. He was also named the Man of the Tournament for his incredible all-round skill in the 2011 tournament.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Harbhajan opined that Yuvraj's record speak for himself and although jokingly added that he would have had to take more responsibility like waking up early, Yuvraj would have been a "great captain".

"If Yuvraj Singh would have been Indian captain, we would have had to sleep early and wake up early (laughs). We would have to do a lot of hard work. He would have been a great captain. His records speak for themselves as he won the Player of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup, a title that gives us respect," he said.

In respect to that, Harbhajan also talked about on whether the careers of some of the players would have been longer had Yuvraj been the skipper.

"I don't think any of our careers would have been prolonged had Yuvraj been the captain. Because whatever we have played we have done it on our ability and no captain has saved us from getting the axe. Whenever you captain the country, you need to keep friendships aside and think of the country first," he said.