One of the most talked about points after the 2014 T20 World Cup was Yuvraj Singh’s batting performance during India’s loss against Sri Lanka in the final. Eight years later, Yuvraj reflected on his innings, in which he scored only 11 runs off 21 balls and spoke about the pressure he felt throughout the tournament, as well as the lack of support from the management.

Speaking on Sports18’s Home of Heroes, Yuvraj also revealed that he was low on confidence as a result of his performance and that he was worried he would be dropped from the team. He said, “During the T20 World Cup in 2014, I was very low on confidence. There was an atmosphere that I could get dropped.

“It’s not an excuse but I wasn’t getting enough support from the team. From the time of Gary (Kirsten), I was in Duncan’s (Fletcher) era and things had completely changed in the team.”

In the final, India ended up posting a below-par total of 130/4 in which Virat Kohli starred with 77 off 58 but found no significant support from other batters. Sri Lanka were able to comfortably chase the total to win by six wickets. However, it was Yuvraj’s knock in particular that garnered a lot of criticism.

“When the final came, I just couldn’t hit the ball. I tried to hit the off-spinner and I couldn’t hit it and it went for dots. I tried to get out, I didn’t get out….Everybody thought my career was over after that. I also thought my career was over. But that’s life. You have to accept that. If you accept glories, you must accept your defeats as well and you must move forward.”

According to Yuvraj, it is hard to find backing in the Indian set-up once players near the end of their career. He cited the examples of Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman who failed to get the support from the management after the transformation the team underwent post 2011. He also compared that with the backing Kohli and Ravi Shastri gave Mahendra Singh Dhoni towards the end of his career and in the build-up to the ODI World Cup in 2019.

Elaborating on the example, he said, “Look at Mahi (MS Dhoni) towards the end of his career. He had so much support from Virat and Ravi Shastri. They took him to the World Cup, he played till the end, and went on to play 350 games. I think support is very important but in Indian cricket everybody will not get support.”

Yuvraj added: “There have been great players like Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir who didn’t get that (support). When you are batting out there and you know that the axe is hanging on your head how will you concentrate and bat and give your best. It is not an excuse but with different coaches and after 2011 times are very different.”