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Should Yuvraj Singh have been recalled for the Sri Lanka tri-series?

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Should Yuvraj Singh have been recalled for the Sri Lanka tri-series?
- The Appeal

The Offside

There can be no doubt that the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh in the team to play the Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka is the best thing for Indian cricket in a long time. In the first place, the talented Punjab southpaw should never have been dropped. The fact that he has explosive talent was never in doubt. Arriving on the scene with a swashbuckling 84 against Australia in the ICC KnockOut in Kenya, Yuvraj Singh was hailed as the person responsible for the mini revival in Indian cricket.

The tall lad is as clean a striker of the ball as anyone else in the country. The ability to play pacemen fearlessly is another factor that simply cannot be overlooked. His 80-ball 84 against Australia was made against the likes of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee some of the best quick men in world cricket. The next match saw Yuvraj come in late in the innings and make a vital 41 against South Africa where again he was up against quality fat bowlers Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

It's after these two quick innings that Yuvraj began to struggle a bit. Every youngster is going to face some difficulty adjusting to the highest level. At least in the case of Yuvraj Singh, he showed very early on that he fitted in easily on the world stage. He had the ability to perform. All he needed was some confidence.

On the field Yuvraj is a tiger. Prowling the crucial region at point the left hander has effected some stunning catches and more than one powerful throw to run out batsmen. Easily the best fielder of the current crop of cricketers, Yuvraj Singh is worth quite a few runs on the field apart from with the bat.

Having identified an exciting young prospect, it only makes sense to back him all the way. Picking Yuvraj Singh for the Sri Lanka tri- series is definitely a step in the right direction.

The Evidence:

The Onside

Yuvraj Singh's knocks in the ICC KnockOut were just a flash in the pan. If you look at his performances after that tournament, the truth is obvious. His scores in the eleven innings that came immediately after the first two innings are as follows: 18, 7, 34, 4, 7, 3, 11, 17, 5, 29 and 19. That is 11 innings at an average of 14.00. For a top order batsman that kind of average is simply unacceptable.

Given the same number of chances and a lot less credit, youngsters like Hemang Badani and Dinesh Mongia have proven to be much more solid cricketers. Yuvraj Singh likes to go after the bowling all the time and we know that such an approach will never work. Even players like Sachin Tendulkar have to curb their strokemaking tendencies every now and then.

To compound the argument, Yuvraj Singh has displayed a marked weakness against the spinners. In the Champions Trophy match versus Sri Lanka, Yuvraj Singh was bamboozled by Muthiah Muralitharan before being cleaned up for just 7. The second time India played Lanka in the same tourney the result was identical: Yuvraj Singh dismissed by Muralitharan for 7! The offspinner from Lanka must be licking his lips in glee when he saw the Indian team list for the Lanka tri-series.

India would be best served picking horses for courses. Yuvraj Singh has definite flaws in his technique against spinners. He would do well to correct those flaws while playing domestic cricket. After all, once his flaws are exposed at the international level, it would be very difficult for him to make a comeback. Against the Lankans, Yuvraj averages a measly 5.66. There' s absolutely no logical basis to picking Yuvraj Singh for the Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka and therefore he should never have been recalled.

The Evidence:

Archive


Results & Scores
Sri Lanka won by 121 runs
Sri Lanka 295/5 (50 ov)
India 174 (47.2 ov)
[Scorecard]



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