Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said it was important that Yuvraj Singh should not burdened with the hype of his return to international cricket, after recovering from cancer, with the first of the two Twenty20 against New Zealand to be played in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, says a report in The Times Of India, adding that Dhoni was upset with the media scrutiny on Yuvraj's return. The media closely followed Yuvraj's training session at the YSR Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium.
Dhoni feels the media is putting pressure on Yuvraj, who has now recovered from rare germ cell cancer. "I feel we need to keep as normal as possible. Don't create the hype around him. The whole world is talking about his comeback in a manner as if they are helping him out. In a way, it puts the burden on the individual. It's important to keep it as normal as possible. Not to let him think what has really happened in his life," he said.
Meanwhile Hindustan Times quoted Dhoni saying that Yuraj is a "strong character" and hoped that the flamboyant all-rounder, who was India's hero in the 2011 World Cup, would enjoy his second innings. "He has fought through it as he is a strong character. As I said, he needs to turn up and just enjoy his cricket. That's what he has done from age-group cricket till now. So he should not think about anything else," Dhoni said.
"The manner in which he joked and fooled around seemed as if he has never ever been away from his teammates. He looked happy and while enjoying a game of soccer, he even showed his predatory instincts by scoring a goal. Right now, we had a soccer session, followed by a net session. He looks very joyful," he said.
According to The Hindu, Dhoni said the wicket could help the bowlers but slowly it would ease out. "The wicket looks good and that means we will have something for the bowlers. It should come onto the bat nicely. We hope batsmen can play nice strokes."
