Another Yuvraj Singh comeback
‘Why did they pick him?’
‘Because he’s Yuvraj Singh, that’s why.’
They say a strong Yorkshire makes for a strong England. An argument could be made that a strong Yuvraj Singh makes for a strong India. Well, a strong limited overs outfit at least. It’s hard to ignore the evidence – 8211 runs, 109 wickets and a World Cup win in 2011 where he was by far the most influential player.
I can hear the critics chomping at the bit, salivating at the prospect of ripping my argument apart before I even make it. Let me stop them right there, hold the bibs. All that is in the past, what has he done recently, right? Sport waits for nobody. Right.
Nobody told Yuvraj that; a leaner, fitter Yuvraj who looks hell-bent on catching up. An extensive training session in France was followed by a domineering, swashbuckling hundred against West Indies A. He scored 224 runs in that series which he followed up by leading India Blue to a Challenger Trophy win.
The question on many people’s minds is this: which Yuvraj is going to turn up? The trailblazer, the trend setter, the X Factor, the game changer, the champion of old, or the Doctor Jekyll to his Mr Hyde? The anti-Yuvraj. That other guy. The chap who looked as if he didn’t know what he was doing on the field. For a while, it wasn’t so much bat hitting ball as ball hitting bat. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was painful to watch.
The smart money is on the Yuvraj of old turning up. The swagger is back, the bat swing is back to normal, the ball is being despatched with ease, and it doesn’t hurt that he does it all with some style.
Quite simply put, a fit and firing Yuvraj is what India need. It’s what India has been clamouring for, the missing link, the last piece of the jigsaw, chemical X. India has the perfect ODI line-up; well, almost. What’s needed is a presence at number 4, someone who can consolidate and build an innings or go absolutely ballistic and give Ravi Shastri reason to shout about tracer bullets and what not.
The contenders then. Dinesh Karthik has many admirable qualities. So too Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and Cheteshwar Pujara, but not M Vijay. It isn’t about what they are, but what they aren’t. None of them are left-handed geniuses who can single-handedly win you a game. None of them are more than useful left-arm spinners. None of them is Yuvraj Singh.
He bats with a languidness that comes to few; he hits the ball ferociously without being uncouth. While in full flow, a certain MC Hammer song may as well be playing in the background.
Because you can’t. Don’t even waste your time trying. Start the car. Go home. At least that’s what the opposition must feel. Unstoppable force meets immovable object?
He’s both.
If he’s fit, if he’s back, if he’s the same player he was before cancer, get him in there. If he’s not, but almost there, get him in there. Picking him for the Australia series wasn’t just the right decision; it was the only decision.