Don't write Yuvraj off - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar has come out in strong support of Yuvraj Singh, who has faced plenty of criticism after a 21-ball 11 that sucked the momentum out of India's innings in the World T20 final against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Yuvraj, Man of the Series in the 2011 World Cup, has already lost his place in the ODI side, and his spot in the Twenty20 side is under scrutiny after a difficult World T20, but Tendulkar hoped Yuvraj would be a part of India's defence of the World Cup in 2015.

"Yuvi, one off day cannot undermine your tremendous contribution in many sweet memories over the years. You may be down today but you are far from being out," Tendulkar wrote on his Facebook page. "I want you to know that there are many like me in India and across the world, who keenly look forward to you being a part of the campaign to defend the ODI World Cup title in 2015."

There were reports that Yuvraj's house in Chandigarh was pelted with stones following the dismal performance in the World T20 final. Tendulkar urged fans to show their support for him. "Last evening, Yuvi had a tough day and he can be criticised. But he should not be crucified nor should he be written off.

"I have been an admirer of Yuvi's indomitable spirit which has overcome many challenges, both on and off the field.

"Knowing Yuvi's determination and ability to fight adversities, he will emerge stronger, proving his critics wrong, yet again."

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, meanwhile, told ESPNcricinfo that he could understand what Yuvraj was facing out in the middle, and could sympathise with him having faced similar situations himself. "When you get into this sort of situation where the runs are not coming, you just don't want to throw it away and make it look like a horrible innings," Manjrekar said. "You still feel because you have done it in the past and all you need is two-three hits. It happened against Australia [in the Super 10s], James Muirhead gave him two short balls, he hit two sixes and the innings suddenly changed, so this is what goes through a batsman's mind, he thinks it can all change, so he doesn't want to throw his wicket away, he wants to make amends for what has happened before.

"The other thing that happens is you realise that you are doing a lot of damage to the team, the shots are not coming, the balls that you want are not coming... There is another thing that happens, which I have also personally experienced, which is suddenly the strength and everything just vanishes from your forearms because of the state of mind that you are in. So yes, you can feel for Yuvraj Singh for what happened to him."