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‘Without Yuvraj Singh, we wouldn’t have won World Cups in 2007 & 2011’ - Harbhajan Singh makes huge claim
India lifted the inaugural T20I World Cup in 2007, in which Yuvraj was named as the man of the series. In 2011, India won ICC World Cup trophy in which, again, Yuvraj was named the Player of the Tournament.
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday stressed the importance of former India allrounder Yuvaj Singh in India’s World Cup winning campaigns in 2007 and 2011. India, led by MS Dhoni, lifted the inaugural T20I World Cup in 2007, in which Yuvraj was named as the man of the series. In 2011, India won their 2nd ICC World Cup trophy (50-overs cricket), in which, once again Yuvraj was named as the Player of the Tournament. Speaking to Aaj Tak, Harbhajan Singh said that India would not have won the two trophies if Yuvraj was not in the team.
“When we are talking about the World Cup. Where Indian cricket has reached now, I think Yuvraj Singh has had a huge role to play. People often talk about Sachin Tendulkar, people often talk about Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev. However, if there was no Yuvraj Singh, I don’t think we would have had those 2 World Cups -- 2007 and 2011,” the right-arm bowler said.
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He further went on to thank Yuvraj for his performance in the two tournaments. “All due to this guy for making this happen. Thank you Yuvi. If you didn’t have Yuvraj Singh, we would have only reached the semi-final. Good teams reach the semi-final. This time also, we reached the semi-final. To win a World Cup, you need a player like Yuvraj Singh. We were lucky and fortunate someone like Yuvraj,” he said.
The 39-year-old expressed hopes that Indian team finds a player like him. “He was there to chase any kind of totals and pick up wickets. He would come and do something... run out or a catch. Thank you Yuvi for getting us the medal. After that (2011), we played 2 World Cups, we didn’t win. Hopefully, we find someone like him soon.”
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Yuvraj announced his retirement from all formats of international cricket in June this year. The left-handed batsman, who made his international debut in an ODI match against Kenya in October 2000, went on to play 304 ODIs, 40 Tests and 58 T20Is for the side.
