The final straw for Yuvraj Singh?

A worried Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri are among the many former players who have been messaging Yuvraj Singh reassurances and even the taciturn Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who usually keeps to himself off the field has been spending long hours in Yuvraj's room to bring him out of what we're told is the blackest depression of his life. It's more than just about a dropped catch or not being among the runs. He's weathered the biggest challenges life could throw at him, including cancer, but it's almost as if the constant pressure of living up to the often unreasonable expectations of his temperamental father - much more so than even his team and his fans - has finally pushed him over the edge. Whispers suggest that Yuvi could have made up his mind to call it quits even as anxious friends and well wishers are trying their best to dissuade him.

Just surviving in international cricket can be a pressure cooker of stress, and it's certainly not helping that his recent loss of form has invited unmentionable, scathing invective from an enraged Yograj, who has squarely held Yuvi's abiding weakness for the good life responsible for finally derailing his career. In the past as well, he has berated his son for what he claims is Yuvi's addiction to Bollywood parties and glamour girls - in fact he even advised him not to marry because he would "spoil" some nice girl's life. But then, Yograj was still in his son's corner - now, no longer so. While he's held up admirably so far but the deep cracks on Yuvi's confidence are now plainly showing - unfortunately when he needs a father's support the most, all he's got is a boot-camp sergeant saying 'I told you so'.