Suresh Raina had more support than me under MS Dhoni, claims Yuvraj Singh

Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh revealed that MS Dhoni supported CSK’s all-rounder Suresh Raina more than him during the former wicket-keeper's captaincy tenure. Yuvraj made his comeback into the Indian team in 2010 after being temporarily frozen out due to bad performance, but eventually, a year later, it was the all-rounder’s efforts which propelled India to their second ODI World Cup victory in 2011.

The 38-year-old also opined that Yusuf Pathan was also doing well at the same time, both with the bat and the ball. It was India’s desperation, which Yuvraj believes, made the selectors pick him for the World Cup. 

“Suresh Raina had a larger support then because MS used to back him. Every captain has a favourite player and I think Mahi really backed Raina at that time. Yusuf Pathan was also performing well at that time and even I was doing well and was also picking wickets,” he said, reported Hindustan Times. 

“And Raina was not in a good touch then. They did not have a left-arm spinner at that time and I was picking wickets so they did not have any choice,” Yuvraj concluded. 

Earlier in another interview, Kedar Jadhav had revealed that he too got a lot of support from Dhoni, which made him play more ODI games for the country. Jadhav added that if it was not for Dhoni’s support, he would have stopped playing after just eight ODIs.