NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and father of Yuvraj Singh, Yograj Singh, on Friday made a stunning statement, saying that women in the household or wives often influence players when it comes to retirement and career decisions.
Yograj, known for speaking his mind, said in an interview with InsideSport: “Ladies of the house, your wifes, they start coaching, they tell you it’s time for you to retire, it’s time to look after the family, the kids ,let’s enjoy kids.”
“So I believe women should not come in between the legendary prospect of a player, fakir aur player yeh dono ka koi dharam nahi hai, warg nahi hai, they belong to god,” Yograj said.
Earlier in the video, Yograj – who played one Test and six ODIs in the early 1980s – also took a sharp dig at Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma amid ongoing discussions around age and retirement.
Both Virat and Rohit have retired from T20Is and Tests and now feature only in ODIs. They stepped away from T20Is after India’s 2024 World Cup triumph and retired from the longest format last year.
“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are young cricketers and they want to quit. Laanat hai zindagi bhar. Make the world realise that you are the best, that you are indispensable. Even if you are fifty years old and still scoring a double hundred, no one will drop you. So this age factor is very funny in this country,” Yograj said.
Interestingly, Yograj – who has often criticised MS Dhoni and blamed him for Yuvraj’s career setbacks – was seen praising the former India captain.
“He (Dhoni) is still playing and should keep on doing so for the next 10 years. Because he has proved his fitness with the right discipline and dedication. I still see his forearm, amazing man. Who the hell are people to tell him to retire? No. As far as cricket is concerned, hats off to him,” Yograj added.
Virat will be seen in action in the IPL 2026 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while Rohit will represent Mumbai Indians. The IPL 2026 season kicks off on Saturday, with RCB taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.