Comeback hero Yuvraj Singh should now look forward to cementing his place in the team. The Punjab all-rounder has got everything that a match winner should posses, but luck did not favour him much. If it was constant injuries during early parts of his career, then it was cancer that he successfully fought back. Few days before, it was Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who raised eyebrows by saying that the Kings XI Punjab player is yet to gain the stamina required for Test matches. However, the all-rounder’s spectacular show with a useful fifty in the first innings is itself a proof that he is ready for the challenge.
Meanwhile, players like Suresh Raina have been wasting their chances by playing rash shots because of their inclination towards Twenty20 cricket. Playing for Chennai Super Kings during the Indian Premier League (IPL), Raina has played many a memorable knock but could not prove his mettle in the longest format of the game till now. This exposes the inconsistency in the lower middle order of the famed Indian batting lineup, which was once adorned by batting greats like VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly. The chief selector’s panel of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) is left with no other choice but to try out other combinations.
On Tuesday, veteran cricket writer Makarand Waingankar released a book on Yuvraj highlighting his career, milestones and post-illness comeback. The book, titled 'Yuvi', also touches upon Yuvraj and his Test career till now. Former India wicketkeeper and selector Kiran More agreed that "Yuvraj should've played more Test cricket than he has" while another purist from the past, Saad bin Jung, said "it is his technique against quality spin bowling" and "poor defense" that has been the batsman's undoing.
"The century he hit in Lahore, during India's 2003-04 was a great knock," recalls Vengsarkar. It was India's second Test when Yuvraj came in for another left-hander and captain Sourav Ganguly.
As selectors have reposed faith by giving chance to Yuvraj again, he should look forward to make this opportunity a permanent one. Playing against Englishmen is not new for him as he had the experience of tasting county cricket format when he was selected for Yorkshire in the aftermath of 2003 World Cup. If the selectors are looking for experience, then Yuvraj has got oodles of them. Having been braced with immense levels of talent, the young player is irreplaceable at the moment.
"We certainly need to see a lot more of Yuvraj in Test cricket," said one of the game's greatest allrounders, Kapil Dev. "He has been a very special talent and deserves a lot of credit for the manner in which he fought his illness and came back to international cricket. From here on, he has to strive to do in the longer format what he's managed in One-day cricket and Twenty20."
All these events are ample proof that Yuvraj Singh enjoys staunch support of the selectors, former cricketers and teammates as well. Fans back home and abroad are looking forward for much more match-winning performances from the cricketer.
