India chief selector MSK Prasad has said that including Yuvraj Singh in the squad for the ongoing ODI series was a collective decision by the selection committee.
The southpaw had scored 672 runs in 5 matches including two centuries and as many fifties in the Ranji Trophy. However, prior to that, he was looking out of sorts while playing for India in the T20s and as expected, there were few eyebrows raised on his inclusion. But the selectors will be mighty pleased with the way things have turned out so far.
After missing out on a good score in the first match at Pune, the 35-year old roared back to form with a career-best knock of 150 in the second ODI at Cuttack. Expressing his delight over the knock, Prasad hoped to see more of such knocks in the upcoming matches.
Speaking to the Times of India, he said: “Yuvraj’s inclusion was a collective decision by the selection committee and he had no backing from a particular person of the team management. Yuvraj had a good run in the Ranji Trophy and cracked hundreds and double hundreds. He looked hungrier for runs and we wanted to give him a chance against England so that he can continue his good form with the bat on the international stage too. We all are happy that he came up with such a brilliant knock yesterday and helped the team win the match. We hope he will maintain his form in the last ODI as well as in the T20s.”
The chief selector also said that the team benefits a lot when an experienced player like Yuvraj bats in the middle order. India were reeling at 22 for 2 and lost captain Virat Kohli three runs later, but Yuvraj and MS Dhoni (134) added 256 runs for the fourth wicket to help India post a mammoth 381.
“Yes, that’s a huge plus to have a batsman like Yuvraj in the middle-order. The way he batted it proved once again that experience matters at this level. Yuvraj’s inclusion in the side has strengthened our belief and confidence,” Prasad explained.
At the same time, Prasad also played down speculations that the Punjab ace has sealed his spot in the team for the Champions Trophy.
He said:“It’s too early to talk about that as there are still five months left for it. Moreover, fitness plays a big role when it comes to selection. We want to be fair to every single player and performance will be counted. Our decision may backfire sometimes but our intention will never go wrong.”