Yuvraj, Harbhajan lambast Chappell over Dhoni 'best finisher' claim

Tags: India, Australia, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Chappell

Published on: May 15, 2020

Former India cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh have hit out at controversial former coach Greg Chappell over his claim that he had a key role to play in MS Dhoni's development as the world's best finisher.

In an online chat with Playwright Foundation, Chappell revealed that in a match against Sri Lanka he asked Dhoni to play along the ground and finish off the game without taking any unnecessary risks. Reacting to the same, Harbhajan hit back stating that Chappell was playing different games.

"He asked Dhoni to play along the ground coz coach was hitting everyone out the park.. He was playing different games," Harbhajan tweeted with the hashtag"#worstdaysofindiancricketundergreg"

Former all-rounder Yuvraj, who retired last year, also criticised the former coach for his views.."Msd and Yuvi no sixes in the last 10 play down the ground," Yuvraj posted in jest, with a laughing emoji.

In the only chat, Chappell had explained that he was keen on Dhoni playing non-risk cricket even though his big-hitting was doing wonders as it was fraught with too much risk.

"Now we talked about the fact that if he (Dhoni) could learn to hit the ball along the ground as well...even though he was good at hitting boundaries, it was still a high-risk way of playing. If he could take some of that risk out of it, he could become one of the best finishers in world cricket," Chappell had said during the chat.

"Somehow, you've got to find the thrill in being the best finisher rather than one of the best hitters of boundaries and maybe be remembered for some exciting innings, because you could become the best finisher the game has ever seen," he had added.

Chappell's tenure as Indian coach was highly controversial as many players, including former skipper Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and even VVS Laxman have spoken out against him. However, former captains Rahul Dravid and Dhoni (as batsman), who enjoyed success under him, have never been heard criticising him.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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