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Sangakkara and Yuvraj dismiss reports of rift
Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh dismissed reports of a rift between them and said too much should not be read into the side's rough patch in the ongoing IPL.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: April 01, 2010 04:40 PM IST
Read Time:3 min
Mohali:
Stories are doing the rounds that Yuvraj, going through a prolonged bad patch in the Twenty20 tournament, is sulking after losing captaincy to Sangakkara, who doesn't enjoy the full support of some players.
Sangakkara, who is back at the helm after serving a one-match ban for the team's repeated slow over-rate, however, begged to differ and said all negative stories stem from the outfit's poor performance in IPL 3.
"These stories come out when the team is losing and not doing well. There is no rift," Sangakkara said.
Video
"Of course there is a lot of disappointment when the team is not winning and the key players are not putting up their best performance. But there is no anger, never any direct criticism of any particular player or any personnel," said Sangakkara ahead of tomorrow's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Dismissing reports that he and Yuvraj were not on best of terms and that it was affecting the team morale, the Sri Lankan said, "Today you saw the warm up game we had. All the local, domestic, Indian and international players got on so well together. I believe that's the way cricket is. When you lose everyone opens themselves up to criticism, some fair and some unfair."
Yuvraj, meanwhile, sounded annoyed with the reports of a 'rift' between him and Sangakkara.
"If anybody is out of form, it does not mean you (media) can write anything," an angry-looking Yuvraj told a group of journalists as he kept walking towards his car after practice.
"You cannot just go on and write one is against the other without any basis. Whatever is being written and said is not correct. There is no rift," said Yuvraj.
Sangakkara threw his weight behind out of form Yuvraj and said such bad patch was common for a cricketer.
"If you take any player, good or bad, some days they perform, some days they don't. Unfortunately, Yuvraj's preparation had been hampered by injury. In this competition, it's like a pressure cooker atmosphere. There is no let off, no time for rest and you have one game coming after the other," explained Sangakkara.
"Yuvraj is one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. Over the years, he has proved it with his performance. He is one player who is expected to perform every single game," said the Lankan.
Asked if it was Yuvraj's flamboyant lifestyle that made him vulnerable to scrutiny and criticism when he is not performing, Sangakkara said, "It depends on how one perceives.
Everyone who plays cricket around the world leads a positive lifestyle, which compliments it on the field as well.
"I don't think anyone should be like a prisoner in your own home. Everyone has a lot of individuality and uniqueness.
Yuvraj Singh is Yuvraj Singh. I think he is one who is not successful just on the field, but off the field as well. He has not changed one bit since he came in to the IPL and he has also made lot of contributions to the Indian team over the years," Sangakkara said.
The Lankan stumper-batsman said the whole team was looking forward to tomorrow's match and said it was important to be high on morale.
"Unfortunately, we have our backs to the wall. We have to make sure that we must win every game we play from here on.
And also make sure that our attitude is still the same, which is to go out there and win," he said.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara and star player Yuvraj Singh on Thursday dismissed reports of a rift between them and said too much should not be read into the side's rough patch in the ongoing Indian Premier League.Stories are doing the rounds that Yuvraj, going through a prolonged bad patch in the Twenty20 tournament, is sulking after losing captaincy to Sangakkara, who doesn't enjoy the full support of some players.
Sangakkara, who is back at the helm after serving a one-match ban for the team's repeated slow over-rate, however, begged to differ and said all negative stories stem from the outfit's poor performance in IPL 3.
"These stories come out when the team is losing and not doing well. There is no rift," Sangakkara said.
Video
"Of course there is a lot of disappointment when the team is not winning and the key players are not putting up their best performance. But there is no anger, never any direct criticism of any particular player or any personnel," said Sangakkara ahead of tomorrow's match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Dismissing reports that he and Yuvraj were not on best of terms and that it was affecting the team morale, the Sri Lankan said, "Today you saw the warm up game we had. All the local, domestic, Indian and international players got on so well together. I believe that's the way cricket is. When you lose everyone opens themselves up to criticism, some fair and some unfair."
Yuvraj, meanwhile, sounded annoyed with the reports of a 'rift' between him and Sangakkara.
"If anybody is out of form, it does not mean you (media) can write anything," an angry-looking Yuvraj told a group of journalists as he kept walking towards his car after practice.
"You cannot just go on and write one is against the other without any basis. Whatever is being written and said is not correct. There is no rift," said Yuvraj.
Sangakkara threw his weight behind out of form Yuvraj and said such bad patch was common for a cricketer.
"If you take any player, good or bad, some days they perform, some days they don't. Unfortunately, Yuvraj's preparation had been hampered by injury. In this competition, it's like a pressure cooker atmosphere. There is no let off, no time for rest and you have one game coming after the other," explained Sangakkara.
"Yuvraj is one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. Over the years, he has proved it with his performance. He is one player who is expected to perform every single game," said the Lankan.
Asked if it was Yuvraj's flamboyant lifestyle that made him vulnerable to scrutiny and criticism when he is not performing, Sangakkara said, "It depends on how one perceives.
Everyone who plays cricket around the world leads a positive lifestyle, which compliments it on the field as well.
"I don't think anyone should be like a prisoner in your own home. Everyone has a lot of individuality and uniqueness.
Yuvraj Singh is Yuvraj Singh. I think he is one who is not successful just on the field, but off the field as well. He has not changed one bit since he came in to the IPL and he has also made lot of contributions to the Indian team over the years," Sangakkara said.
The Lankan stumper-batsman said the whole team was looking forward to tomorrow's match and said it was important to be high on morale.
"Unfortunately, we have our backs to the wall. We have to make sure that we must win every game we play from here on.
And also make sure that our attitude is still the same, which is to go out there and win," he said.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket Kumar Sangakkara Yuvraj Singh
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