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Dhoni’s place in the side has been a subject of debate owing to his inconsistent form but many, including former captain Sunil Gavaskar, have said that his tremendous grasp of match situations makes him invaluable.
The 37-year-old left-handed batsman was speaking after being announced as the brand ambassador of sports-tech startup LivePools at suburban Bandra.
Yuvraj, the 2011 World Cup’s Player of the Tournament, echoed the sentiment when asked about the Dhoni factor here at an interaction.
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“So, I feel his presence is very important in decision-making. He had a fantastic tournament in Australia and it is good to see him hit the ball how he used to do, and I wish him all the best.”
But Yuvraj steered clear of queries on which batting position Dhoni should come in.
“That you have to ask Dhoni, which number he has to bat,” he said.
Yuvraj will be competing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2019 and said he will look to ease the pressure on skipper Rohit Sharma.
“I think, if I can contribute in the middle-order, it will just take some weight off him (Rohit) and he can just go and play his natural game, while opening. (We will) see how the combinations (go),” Yuvraj said.
The 37-year-old left-hander found a buyer quite late at the IPL players’ auction held in Jaipur last December for his base price of INR 1 crore after going unsold initially.
“I’m very fired up boss, I have been training in the nets everyday,” said Yuvraj.
He also lauded fellow Punjab player Shubman Gill, who recently made his India One-Day International debut in New Zealand, saying his progress over the last one year has been amazing.
“I was excited to see him (Shubman) play for India. It is amazing, how he has improved so much. He came back from the (India) A tour, scored lot of runs in domestic cricket, straightaway got an opportunity,” said Yuvraj.
Yuvraj also was pleased with rise of teams like Vidarbha, Gujarat and Saurashtra in the domestic circuit. Vidarbha Thursday lifted their second successive Ranji Trophy title with a comfortable 78-run win over Saurashtra in the final.
“Very impressed with Vidarbha, they have got some great players. They have got an outstanding coach — Chandrakant Pandit — who’s definitely got the best out of the team.
“Also impressed with how domestic cricket is improving, the other teams are improving…Saurashtra are playing well, Gujarat has also been playing very well, so it is good to see that in domestic cricket,” he signed off.