Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh lamented the attitude of young Indian cricketers towards four-day cricket and felt lucrative Indian Premier League contracts at an early age has affected their focus.
Yuvraj Singh who played 40 Test matches, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for India apart from 132 IPL games felt young Indian players lack the guidance from senior players that he got during his days.
“IPL offers big money and it takes away the focus (from the youngsters),” Yuvraj Singh told Sportstar.
“Not the current lot. They want to play Tests but the younger lot, who play one-day cricket mostly, their focus is to play IPL and not four-day cricket for the states,” he added.
The all-rounder came into the Indian team with a lot of experienced heads in the shape of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. Their constant scolding made him a much better player.
“From the interaction with the youngsters, you realise that they can do with more respect for the seniors,” Yuvraj said.
“It is not the same that we gave to our seniors. There has to be a certain amount of respect towards the seniors, who have taught you so much,” he added.
Yuvraj Singh revealed he speaks with Rishabh Pant sometimes who is going through a rough patch and felt it was important for him to learn quickly.
“Coaches and seniors have to be in touch with them constantly and tell them there are certain things they can’t do on and off the field,” the 38-year-old said about Pant and Prithvi Shaw.
“Work harder on their fitness. They really need guidance because they are at a fragile stage. They can either become great players or their careers could break. If they make a mistake they should be told it is not acceptable. I have gone through that stage,” he added.
Speaking about the captains that influenced his cricketing career, Yuvraj picked Sourav Ganguly over Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
“I have played under Sourav (Ganguly) and had a lot of support from him. Then Mahi (MS Dhoni) took over. It’s a difficult choice to make between Sourav and Mahi,” he said.
“I have more memories of time under Sourav because of the support he gave me. I didn’t have that kind of support from Mahi and Virat (Kohli),” he added.
With India currently under lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Yuvraj has urged everyone to read about the virus and not believe in any misinformation.
“People, rather than panicking, should visit the official health sites (WHO and Union Health Ministry) to really understand what the disease is,” Yuvraj said.
“First of all, people need to stop reading (social media) and look for correct information,” he said.
“Please understand that these government and official health sites will guide you accurately because there is rampant misinformation about the virus on social media,” he added.