The first thing Ravi Shastri announced upon taking over as the Indian coach, was the fact that his primary objective was to commence India’s preparations for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England. Shastri was spot on with his words, as he focused on the need to build a team as quickly as possible and keep the core group intact for the grand event to be played a couple of years later.
It is also believed that Shastri along with skipper Virat Kohli has already zeroed down on the players he would like to have for the ultimate stage.
However, when the Indian coach was quizzed about his take on the futures of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, Shastri chose to take the diplomatic route and said that a firm stand would be taken once the correct time arrived. Well, he wasn’t wrong again either, as here, we’re discussing two of India’s greatest match winners in ODI’s, and no rash decision should be taken surrounding them.
When one talks about MS Dhoni, it’s safe to assume that the management would like to have the senior pro around till 2019. There are numerous reasons behind persisting with Dhoni. First and foremost, lies in the ocean of experience under Dhoni’s belt. His advice to Virat Kohli during the crunch moments is priceless, so are his finishing skills upon striking form. To add to that, he still is the world’s safest wicketkeeper behind the stumps, and thereby, it makes sense to back Dhoni for 2019.
But what about Yuvraj Singh then? Has time run out for the Man of the Series of the 2011 World Cup? Or will Yuvraj get another chance in Sri Lanka to prove his credentials as a match winner and display that he still has it in him to represent the nation in another World Cup?
The likeliest scenario will be that the ODI series in Sri Lanka could well be Yuvraj’s final chance to prove his ability as an asset in the ODI team. Safe to say, that going by the form of his contemporaries and other few factors, a failure here in the five match series in Sri Lanka, could all but wind up Yuvraj’s rather illustrious career. In these five games, Yuvraj would have to perform every single time, if he is to convince the management that he still is as hungry as he previously said half a decade ago.
The Lion of Punjab made his comeback into the ODI team in January this year against England in the home ODI series. Just into the second game of the series, he played an unbelievable knock of 150 and rolled back the years with his clean hitting and striking the ball. In that series, the southpaw showcased that why exactly he had been recalled to the side and his destructive abilities were a colossal factor, as he could play game changing innings.
Speaking about game changing innings, he played one against Pakistan in the side’s opening game of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Thanks to his 32 ball knock of 53, India got a sudden spike in the death overs and he was ultimately named the Man of the Match. In the final of that tournament too, Yuvraj withered the early storm in the form of a raging Mohammad Amir and countered his spell to perfection before falling to the leg spin of Shadab Khan.
In all, since his comeback, in 11 games, Yuvraj averages a healthy 41.33 at a more than a decent strike rate of 98.67. To add to that, he also has won two Man of the Match awards this year. In hindsight, these numbers seem extremely healthy and indicate that the player should be backed for the long term horizon. But this is exactly where the confusion creeps in.
The issue with Yuvraj hasn’t been in his batting at all, but it’s been his speed in the outfield and fielding, a couple of aspects which were his biggest strengths in the first half of his career. Time and again, the veteran has looked lethargic in the outfield and his pace of running too has dropped down by a bit. In this rapidly developing era of the game, these signs aren’t treated as optimistic given how close games can eventually get.
Another woe for Yuvraj has been his handling of spin. While he dominated the slower bowlers for a majority of his career, the tale has been a little different now, with confusion taking over Yuvraj’s mind. His indecisiveness against spin and not knowing whether to attack or defend has caused some chaos in the middle order.
In all, these five games in Sri Lanka are Yuvraj’s last bet to portray that he still possesses the aura to be a match winner at the grand stage. If the southpaw can somehow convince the management of his class and overcome his shortcomings, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Yuvraj turn out for India in the 2019 World Cup. For now, though, it only remains to be seen how Yuvraj fares in Sri Lanka, in the upcoming series.