CSK’s MS Dhoni is a genuine high-pressure player, Yuvraj Singh isn’t, says former India coach

A few days back Indian cricket team and the fans celebrared the 11th anniversary of the 2011 World Cup win. The heroes of the final vs Sri Lanka were Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni but the Player of the Series was Yuvraj Singh.

The former Indian all-rounder had 362 runs and taken 15 wickets as well. Fans still remember that epic knock of his in the quarter-finals vs Australia where his fifty knocked out the defending champions.

However, in the final, with India losing two quick wickets and at the cusp of a batting collapse, captain Dhoni decided to promote himself and went in to bat at the number which belonged to Yuvraj.

It turned out to be a great move and it was backed by logic. Dhoni played legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan better than Yuvraj, who throughout his career struggled to play spin well.

Murali’s off-spinners and wrong’uns could have turned out to be fatal for Yuvraj. Hence, MSD decided to cope with that challenge as he was better equipped to play Murali’s spin. And in the past had done well against him.

Paddy Upton, who is currently the Team Catalyst and was assistant to former head coach Gary Kirsten back then, made a big statement related to both Dhoni and Yuvraj, in his new column for Indian Express.

Upton, in his column, wrote that Dhoni is among the those players who are genuine high-pressure players and that Yuvraj is not.

He wrote: “…He (MS Dhoni) would do what he is the best in the world at – which is seeing a team home in a chase in the second innings in a white-ball game.

He had delivered nothing in the eight games before the final. Yuvraj had done his bit, he had played his tournament. He was done, he was spent.

That moment was set up for someone like Dhoni. There are very few players in the world who are genuine “massive high-pressure” players. Yuvraj Singh is not one of those, Dhoni is.”