Once labelled a 'pie-chucker' by Kevin Pietersen, beleaguered Yuvraj Singh has found support from the maverick batsman, who says the India left-hander is at the receiving end of "unwarranted criticism" following his scratchy knock in the World T20 final.
Yuvraj's 21-ball 11 sucked the momentum out of India's innings on Sunday and some unruly fans pelted stones at the all-rounder's residence in Chandigarh. India lost the title clash to Sri Lanka by six wickets.
Standing behind Yuvraj, who is now a friend, Pietersen said: "I haven't read the newspapers here but what I have seen on twitter is that he has got a bit of stick. I think that it was unwarranted and he did not deserve this."
Former India players such as Kris Srikkanth and Ravi Shastri had critical of Yuvraj's batting, prompting Pietersen to say that it's "very easy to say things" when one is not an active international cricketer.
"You can't always be good. It's very easy to say things when you stop playing. I see a lot of players talking who don't even play international cricket and wished they were playing, have a lot of things to say. Because criticising is the easiest thing to do," he told PTI during an exclusive interaction.
Set to lead Delhi Daredevils in the upcoming seventh edition of Indian Premier league, Pietersen is happy that he will have to face a selection dilemma when it comes to having his pick between 'Million Dollar Man' Dinesh Karthik and the new South African sensation Quinton de Kock when they kickstart their campaign.
While De Kock has made grand entry into international cricket, Karthik's Rs 12.5 crore bidding makes him slightly favourite to get the nod.
"Of course, it is good to have selection dilemmas as it is quite a good thing to have. I kind of enjoy having selection dilemmas. You have got to hate the fact that you can only choose from only 11 players.
"You should be wanting that your squad of 16 is ready to have a go. Yes, it will be a difficult pick for the first match but we would certainly settle down with time," he said.
Life without international cricket is not something that Pietersen would have ideally imagined but then he has been a non-conformist in many ways.
