Chandigarh: Former cricketer Yograj Singh, father of Yuvraj Singh, recently made explosive claims during a podcast, alleging that Kapil Dev and Bishan Singh Bedi played a key role in ending his cricketing career due to internal politics.

Yograj detailed an intense confrontation with Kapil Dev, which he said stemmed after his exclusion from the North Zone team. “My wife (Yuvi’s mother) wanted me to ask Kapil questions. I told her that I would teach this bloody man a lesson,” he said. He described visiting Kapil’s house with a pistol, where he confronted Kapil and his mother.

“I abused him a dozen times and told him, ‘You will pay for it.’ I wanted to shoot him but didn’t because his pious mother was present. I then told my wife, ‘Let’s go,’” Yograj recalled.

The former player claimed he was dropped from the team due to his close friendship with Sunil Gavaskar, alleging that senior players like Bedi and Kapil targeted him.

“These guys, including Bishan Singh Bedi, plotted against me. I never forgave Bedi. When I was dropped, Ravindra Chadha, one of the selectors, told me that Bedi didn’t want to pick me because they thought I was Gavaskar’s man and because I played cricket in Mumbai.”

Yograj revealed that this incident led to his decision to quit the sport, resolving that his son Yuvraj would achieve what he couldn’t. “That was the moment I decided I would not play cricket. Yuvi will play,” he stated.

Yograj didn’t hold back his criticisms of Kapil Dev either. He claimed to have mocked Kapil after India’s 2011 ODI World Cup win, saying, “In 2011, when India won the World Cup, there was only one guy crying, and it was Kapil Dev. I sent him a paper cutting, saying, ‘My son did better than you in the World Cup.’”

The fiery comments also included a personal dig at Kapil, with Yograj, alleging that Kapil was unable to have a son.

These allegations have reignited discussions about the politics of Indian cricket in the 1980s and how they may have influenced the careers of many players.

Yograj Singh, a former Indian cricketer, played as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. His international career was brief, featuring in one Test match and six One Day Internationals (ODIs) for India between 1980 and 1981.

Domestically, Singh had a more substantial impact. He participated in 30 first-class matches for teams like Haryana and Punjab, taking 66 wickets at an average of 26.60.

After his cricket career was curtailed by injury, Singh transitioned into the Punjabi film industry, where he has starred in a number of films.

In 2014, he was arrested by Haryana Police in connection with an alleged altercation over car parking in Panchkula.

NNP