Yuvraj Singh tried his best, will be disappointed himself: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Although the opinion of the majority said middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh lost the match for India against Sri Lanka in Sunday's Twenty20 World Cup final by scoring just 11 runs of 21 balls, his skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, came to his defence, saying Yuvraj tried his best, and would be the most disappointed over his inability to help India score an above par total.

It maybe recalled that India failed to build any momentum in the middle overs while Yuvraj was at the crease, and managed to score only a below-par 130 for 4, which Sri Lanka chased down with 2.1 overs and six wickets to spare.

Dhoni said Yuvraj tried and that was the most he could do. He said there was no point in blaming individuals as cricket at the end of the day is a team game.

When asked how disappointing it was for fans that a player of Yuvraj's calibre and experience was not able to click, Dhoni said no one would be more gutted than the man himself.

He added that no player really wants to play bad cricket. In front of 40,000 people and added that as far as Yuvraj was concerned, it was an off day for him.

Dhoni said he had hoped that the left-right combination of Yuvraj and Virat Kohli would work.

Yuvraj has lost his place in the India Test and ODI sides. In the World T20, he made 100 runs in five innings at a strike-rate of 98.03. Sixty of those 100 came in a largely inconsequential group game against Australia, when India had already qualified for the semi-finals following three successive wins.

When questioned how long India would be able to retain Yuvraj in the shortest format, Dhoni said now was the not the time to speak about selection-related matters.