Yuvraj Singh on Tuesday questioned India batting coach Vikram Rathour’s ability to guide Indian cricketers in the T20 format. Rathour had replaced Sanjay Bangar as the batting coach last year. “He (Rathour) is my friend … do you think he can help players of this T20 generation? Has he played cricket at the level to help them?” Yuvraj, who was part of the 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup-winning teams, said during an Instagram session. Rathour played six Tests and seven ODIs for India between 1996 and 1997. Yuvraj said a player should be dealt with on the basis of his personality. “If I was coach I’ll tell goodnight to (Jasprit) Bumrah at 9pm and take Hardik (Pandya) out for a drink at 10pm … that’s how you deal with different personalities.”
Yuvraj, who had retired from international cricket last year, also took a veiled dig at India chief coach Ravi Shastri.
“The current guys have no one to talk to and take advice,” he said.
Asked if it is not Shastri’s job to guide the players, Yuvraj said: “I don’t know if Ravi is doing it but maybe he has others things in his hand.
“Anyway, you can’t tell everyone just ‘go out and play your game, express yourself’, this approach may work with someone like Sehwag … but this will never work with Pujara … so these things the coaching staff need to realise.”