‘I couldn’t have kept pace with Virat or matched his intensity’ former fielding coach R Sridhar recalls a conversation with Yuvraj Singh

R Sridhar wrote, "The next day Yuvi held a blinder at short cover off Hardik Pandya to get rid of Chris Lynn. There is something to say for practising at one's own pace, I guess."

Yuvraj Singh on the left and Virat Kohli on the right. (FILE)

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Former India fielding coach R Sridhar recalled a conversation with former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh in his book ‘Coaching beyond My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’ where the left-hander acknowledged he won’t match the intensity or pace of current batting superstar Virat Kohli.

Sridhar in his book wrote, “We were training at the Adelaide Oval in January 2016, the day before the start of the three-match T20I series against Australia. I was putting Virat through the grind and, typically, he held nothing back. Yuvraj walked past me when I had expected him to join in and sat himself down in the dugout, watching us intently.”

“Once Virat had left the field a few minutes later, Yuvi came across for his practice. He told me, ‘I couldn’t have kept pace with Virat or matched his intensity. I thought it best that I leave you guys to it and once he finished, I can work on my fielding at my own pace,” he added.

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Recalling Yuvraj in the first T20I in Adelaide, Sridhar wrote, “I could see where he was coming from. The next day Yuvi held a blinder at short cover off Hardik Pandya to get rid of Chris Lynn. There is something to say for practising at one’s own pace, I guess.”

India whitewashed Australia in the three-match T20I series. In the final game at Sydney, Yuvraj played a crucial 15-run cameo to take the side home in a thriller.

The series also saw the debut of both the current Indian superstars Jaspirt Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.

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