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Every Indian cricket fan must remember the surprise appointment of Mahendra Singh Dhoni before India's participation in the 2007 T20 World Cup. It was surprising in many ways. Dhoni was never in contention to take over the reins of the Indian team but he was given the responsibility and the rest is history. Dhoni went on to become India's most successful captain and that's the reason no one ever questioned his appointment.
However, one of the biggest surprises among all was Yuvraj Singh not getting a chance despite being senior and also the vice-captain before the mega ICC event. No one ever talked about it and it remained a mystery for years. However, the former India all-rounder has himself opened up on the whole captaincy change episode and revealed what went behind the scenes.
Singh reasoned that him standing with Sachin Tendulkar in the latter's feud with then coach Greg Chappell cost him India's captaincy. In a chat with Sanjay Manjrekar, Yuvraj opened up on how he was sacked from vice-captaincy after that incident, and Dhoni was preferred over him to lead the Men in Blue.
“I was supposed to be the captain. Then the Greg Chappell incident happened. It had become Chappell or Sachin. I was probably the only player who supported…that I support my teammate. And there were a lot of people in the…Some of the BCCI officials did not like that. It was said that they should make anybody the captain but not myself. This is what I heard,” Yuvraj told Sanjay Manjrekar during an interview on Sports18.
I have no regrets about it: Yuvraj
The Man of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj further said that although he missed the golden chance to lead the Indian team, he holds no regrets about it. “I am not sure how true it is. Suddenly from vice-captaincy, I was removed. Sehwag was not there in the team. So, out of nowhere, Mahi became captain for the 2007 T20 World Cup. I thought I was going to be the captain,” said Singh.
“Viru (Virender Sehwag) was senior but he was not on the England tour. I was the vice-captain of the ODI team while Rahul (Dravid) was the captain. So, I was supposed to be the captain. Obviously, it was a decision that went against me but I have no regrets about it. Today, if the same thing happens, I will still support my teammate," Yuvraj added.