'I couldn’t have kept pace with Virat': R Sridhar reveals conversation with Yuvraj Singh

Indian cricket team’s former fielding coach has recalled a conversation he had with former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. In his newly released book, ‘Coaching beyond My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’, Sridhar revealed that the star all-rounder admitted to not matching Virat Kohli’s intensity in 2016. Yuvraj regularly featured in the Indian limited-overs side until 2017. 

Meanwhile, Sridhar revealed that the incident took place during India’s training session at the Adelaide Oval in January 2016, ahead of the three-match T20I series against Australia. “I was putting Virat through the grind and, typically, he held nothing back. Yuvraj walked past me when I had expected him to join in and sat himself down in the dugout, watching us intently,” Sridhar said.

“I thought it best that I leave you guys to it and once he finished, I can work”

“Once Virat had left the field a few minutes later, Yuvi came across for his practice. He told me, ‘I couldn’t have kept pace with Virat or matched his intensity. I thought it best that I leave you guys to it and once he finished, I can work on my fielding at my own pace,” the former India fielding coach added. India memorably whitewashed the Aussies in the T20I series.

Virat Kohli was appointed as India’s all-format captain after MS Dhoni’s tenure ended

Interestingly, two of India’s current superstars Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya made their international debuts in the series. Later that year MS Dhoni decided to step down from India’s captaincy in white ball cricket, as Kohli was appointed as the all-format captain of India. He went on to lead Indian across formats to many memorable moments from 2017 to early 2022.

R Sridhar continues to make headlines due to revelations in his book

It is worth noting that Sridhar has made notable revelations about the Indian dressing room in his newly released book. Ever since the book was released, Sridhar has remained in news for providing inside details on several matters that happened during his time as the Indian fielding coach. Sridhar was first appointed as the fielding coach of India in 2014.