'They are backstabbers' - Yograj Singh feels Kohli, Dhoni were 'scared of Yuvraj Singh'

Published - 05 Sept 2025, 17:59 IST | Updated - 05 Sept 2025, 18:26 IST

Former India pacer Yograj Singh, who is also the father of legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, is known for his blunt takes on cricketing stalwarts. The 67-year-old has often blamed MS Dhoni for the way he treated his son during his tenure as captain of the Indian team. However, during a recent interview, Yograj tore into Virat Kohli, mentioning that the Delhi batter was never a friend of Yuvraj.

Yuvraj played 402 international matches for India from 2000 to 2017, amassing 11,178 runs at an average of 35.05, with 17 centuries and 71 fifties. He also accounted for 148 wickets across the three formats. Yograj feels that the likes of Kohli and Dhoni were scared about losing their positions to Yuvraj, and went on to call the two former India captains "backstabbers".

"As I told you, there are no friends in the sphere of success, money and glory. There were always backstabbers, people who wanted to put you down. People were scared of Yuvraj Singh because they were afraid where he would usurp their seats because he was such a great player created by the God Almighty. He has been the greatest of players, who they were scared - right from MS Dhoni, everybody - 'oh he might take my chair," said Yograj while speaking to InsideSport.

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Yograj named the legendary Sachin Tendulkar as the only friend Yuvraj had in the Indian team. The former praised the Master Blaster for his caring demeanour.

Yuvraj was a part of the Indian team which won the 2002 Champions Trophy (joint-winners with Sri Lanka), the 2007 T20 World Cup, and the 2011 ODI World Cup. His best years in international cricket came under Dhoni's leadership. Meanwhile, he was recalled to the Indian side for the final time after Kohli became the all-format captain of the Men in Blue in early 2017.

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Yuvraj played his final match in international cricket against the West Indies on June 30, 2017, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. The Chandigarh-born announced his retirement from all forms of domestic and international cricket on June 10, 2019, at the age of 37.