India's legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has been grooming cricketers like T20 sensation Abhishek Sharma and captain Shubman Gill. There are many others Yuvraj has taken under his wings and he is being lauded for it in the cricket fraternity. The two-time World Cup-winner says that there is a need to understand a youngster's mindset rather than just imposing their beliefs on someone.
"I am definitely nothing like Yograj Singh. I am a very different person, and a very different personality. My style of coaching is very different. I believe when you are coaching someone or mentoring someone, you need to be in their shoes and you need to understand their mindset, what they are going through, rather than telling them what to do. It has to be like a push and pull. You take some and you give some. So it is important to understand how to be in the head of a 19-year-old," Yuvraj told PTI.
Yuvraj made his ODI debut when he was a teenager in 2000. He said that he is well aware of the challenges a young cricketer faces.
"When I was 19 years old, nobody understood the challenges that I was facing, so when I see a 19 or a 20-year-old, I know what challenges they are facing mentally, and it is about listening to them, understanding their mindset and working accordingly rather than telling them what to do," pointed out Yuvraj.
A young Yuvraj shines
While Yograj is known as a hard taskmaster, Yuvraj is far from it. The all-rounder’s father threw his skating shoes and medals away when he was a teenager. Then, he left no stone unturned to go and represent India on the internationals stage. In 2000, he was part of the Under-19 World Cup-winning lead led by Mohammed Kaif.
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It did not take him long to get into the ODI side. He made his name with an 84-run knock against Australia in ICC Champions Trophy. In the inaugural T20 World Cup 2007, he hit six consecutive sixes against England and scored a vital half-century against Australia in the semifinal. He played a vital role in India's T20 World Cup title win under the leadership of MS Dhoni. In 2011 ODI World Cup, his all-round show earned him the ‘Player of the series’. He put on a stellar show despite battling cancer. Later, he underwent treatment and made a comeback to the international side as well.