5 players who can replace Yuvraj Singh in the Indian ODI team ahead of 2019 World Cup
Ever since making his debut for India in 2000, Yuvraj Singh has been a proven match-winner in the limited-overs format and has done well consistently over the years. He was one of the reasons why India won the 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup. Right after the 2011 World Cup, he faced the biggest battle of his career as he was diagnosed with cancer and since his return after overcoming the disease, Yuvraj has been a shadow of his past as the dashing southpaw has found it really hard to cope with the demands of the game.
He has been in and out of the Indian team and struggled to get going whenever he got a chance to represent the Men in Blue. Once again, he was given a chance in the team earlier this year, which he made full use of by scoring 150 against England and thereby cemented his place in the team for the Champions Trophy. In the ICC event, he scored a match-winning half-century against Pakistan before struggling to get going against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the final.
His batting powers have diminished and he hardly rolls his arms over. Adding to this, he has been poor on the field, something you generally didn’t associate with Yuvraj in the past. To be fair, he is 35 years old at the moment and one cannot expect him to throw himself on the field. It is safe to say that the age-factor has caught up with his batting as well.
In spite of all these, should the team management persist with him given that the 2019 World Cup is just two years away? If they think Yuvraj can be around till then, I am sceptical of India’s chances in the show piece cricket event. It is high time (even if he does well in West Indies) that the selectors, along with the team management, take a bold call and look beyond one of India’s most successful players in the format.
Let us take a look at five cricketers who can replace Yuvraj in the Indian middle order.
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Note: The names that feature in this list were not a part of the playing XI in the ICC Champions Trophy and the series against West Indies.
#5 Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina was a vital member of the Indian team since making a comeback in 2008, but, the same cannot be said of his journey with the Indian team in the last two years. After the 2015 World Cup, Raina’s form dipped before he was eventually dropped after India’s series against South Africa later that year.
Since then, he was considered as a T20 specialist and has represented the nation in numerous T20Is. Raina might have been out of form and struggled against rising deliveries, something that was exposed by bowlers around the world and has been playing in his mind whenever he walked out to bat, he is still a safer bet than Yuvraj in all three departments.
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He is reliable with the bat in the middle order and is someone who is familiar with the demands of modern day cricket. With the ball, he can give the captain few handy overs with his off-spin and is one of India’s best fielders at the moment, traits that are missing in Yuvraj’s armoury.
It won’t be a surprise if Raina is called back to the ODI squad, especially after the selectors gave a lifeline to Yuvraj Singh earlier this year.