Former cricketer Yograj Singh, father of legendary India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, has recalled how sledging from the Australian team, led by Steve Waugh, made his son a mentality beast on the field. Yograj insisted that while Waugh’s words might seem to be harsh, they taught Yuvraj to be tough and give it back to the opposition. When Yuvraj first arrived at the scene as an 19-year-old, he wasn’t as expressive as he was when he finished his career. It was only after that incident that changed everything.

Yograj also recalled the incident when Yuvraj got into a heated argument with England great Andrew Flintoff during a T20 World Cup 2007 Super Six fixture, but took his anger out on a young Stuart Broad, hitting him for six sixes in an over.

“For me, it’s a war fought by gentlemen. While you are in the field, there are times you are just going through the motions, and people should understand this. I don’t know whether you have heard what Australians do on the field. They abuse everything which is in the world. They use every harsh word in the dictionary. I remember when Yuvraj was hit by a ball and he fell. Steve Waugh came and said, ‘Get up, this is not school cricket, you bloody kid’,” Yograj told Inside Sport.

“And he just got up and he was standing. And then he would swear like this and what happened with Flintoff and Yuvi,” he added.

Yograj also pointed out that emotions often tend to get the better of players when they are playing for the country, so whatever happens on the field stays on it.

“You are still friends when you go out. Everybody is not the same. Emotions go, forgive them. Obviously, at the end of the day, you are friends. You say sorry to each other and that is over. Have a big heart. Don’t get into all these petty things. There is nonsense going on, fining kids and all this kind of stuff. It doesn’t matter,” he added.

Yograj made these revelations while speaking about the BCCI penalising Lucknow Super Kings (LSG) spinner Digvesh Rathi for his trademark ‘notebook’ celebration.

Speaking on the matter, Yograj suggested that it is all in the sport and that youngsters must not be fined for such petty issues.