5 explosive statements made by Yograj Singh in recent viral interview

Former Team India cricketer Yograj Singh is known for making controversial statements in the media. Making his debut in 1980, Yograj, father of World Cup-winning all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, represented India in one Test and six ODIs.

Yograj is famously known for launching scathing remarks on former India skipper MS Dhoni. On Sunday, the 66-year-old made a few controversial statements about cricket and many other things during his appearance on the Unfiltered by Samdish podcast.

On that note, let's look at five explosive statements made by Yograj Singh during his recent interview.

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#1 Yograj Singh wanted to put a bullet through Kapil Dev's head

Yograj recently claimed that he wanted to kill World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev when the latter dropped the former from the national and zonal teams.

He said in the aforementioned interview:

“When Kapil Dev became captain of India, North Zone, and Haryana, he dropped me for no reason. My wife (Yuvi’s mother) wanted me to ask Kapil questions. I told her that I would teach this bloody man a lesson. I took my pistol out and went to Kapil’s house in Sector 9. He came out with his mother. I abused him a dozen times. I told him, Because of you, I have lost a friend, and what you have done, you will pay for it."

“I told him, ‘I want to put a bullet through your head, but I am not doing it because you have a very pious mother, who is standing here.’ That was the moment I decided I would not play cricket; Yuvi will play," he added.

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#2 On his son winning the World Cup while battling cancer

Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh played a crucial role in Team India's triumph in the 2011 ODI World Cup at home. The southpaw scored 362 runs at an average of 90.50 and a strike rate of 86.19. He also picked up some crucial wickets with his left-arm spin, as India won the ODI World Cup after 28 years.

It was later known that Yuvraj was battling life-threatening cancer during the World Cup. Yograj said that he would've been proud of his son even if Yuvraj had died during the World Cup as India lifted the title.

"For our country, if Yuvraj Singh had died from cancer and had won India the World Cup, I would have been a proud father. I still am very proud of him. I have told him this over the phone as well. I wanted him to play even when he was spitting blood. I told him, 'Don't worry, you won't die. Win this World Cup for India,'" he said.

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#3 On Arjun Tendulkar not training with him anymore

Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary cricketer Sachin, trained under the guidance of Yograj Singh for a few days. He saw improvements in his performance and also made his debut in the IPL.

Yograj claimed that Arjun stopped training with him because of the fear of getting associated with the former. He said:

"Sachin's son. He comes here for 12 days and scores a hundred. When he scored a hundred on debut and then came back to IPL, people feared that his (Arjun) name will get stuck with him (Yograj). Are you understanding my point?"

"People are very afraid of name-sticking. I told Yuvi (Yuvraj) to call Sachin and ask him to give me Arjun for a year. See what happens after that," Yograj added.

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#4 Yograj Singh's comment on women

The 66-year-old also made controversial statements on women, urging that they shouldn't be given power. Citing the example of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Yograj said:

"Wife will destroy your house if you give her power. Sorry to say, Indira Gandhi ran this country and destroyed it. Give them respect and love, but never give them power."

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#5 On former India skipper MS Dhoni

Yograj Singh is known to be an MS Dhoni critic, slamming the wicketkeeper-batter for allegedly destroying Yuvraj's career. To everyone's surprise, he recently made a U-turn and praised Dhoni for his fearless attitude on the pitch.

Yograj said:

“I find Dhoni as a very motivated captain, who can tell people what to do. The best thing about Dhoni was that he could read the wicket can tell bowlers where to bowl."

“What I liked the most about him was that he was a fearless men. If you remember in Australia, he was hit on the grill my Mitchell Johnson and he didn't moved a bit, he stood there and next ball he pulled him for a six. Aise log kaafi kam hote hai (There are very few people like him),” he added.