Yuvraj 2.0 - Why Singh is King again
When you think of Yuvraj Singh, you think of sixes. Effortless flicks sailing over the square-leg boundary. And a hapless Stuart Board staring on disgruntled. Yuvraj Singh had been around for a long time. But in 2007, a single over changed his fortunes and placed him on the permanent map of stardom.
Over the years, Yuvraj Singh has been a match-winner for India. And in 2011, it was his all-round abilities that catapulted India to the ultimate prize in World Cricket. The brute force with which his bat swung and the smile with which he ran through oppositions with the ball made him the man of the hour.
Who could have foretold that destiny had crueller designs in store for him? He might have looked unassailable at that moment but the quirks of fate showed that he too was human after all.
When disaster struck
In 2011, India had won the ICC World Cup and Yuvraj Singh had bagged the much coveted Player of the Series award. At that stage, Yuvraj could do no wrong. But it was just then that disaster struck. He was diagnosed with cancer and went through a lengthy procedure of treatment. For Yuvraj, the disease could not have attacked him at a worse time.
After a long sabbatical, Yuvraj Singh did return to the arena once again, but he was never the same warrior. The once fluent southpaw who could dictate terms to the opposition looked desperately out of sorts. It was clear that he would never be the same man again
Despite the ordinary performances for which he found himself in and out of the team quite frequently, he refused to give up. But the final nail in the coffin came in the ICC World T20 final against Sri Lanka in 2014 at Mirpur.
Against some classy death bowling led by Malinga, Yuvraj struggled to get bat on ball as he huffed and puffed his way to a 11-ball 21. The innings slowed down the Indian onslaught in the final overs and some believed it ultimately cost India the game.
For the next few days, the six-sixes-in-an-over hero had disappeared behind a facade of battle-worn mediocrity who became the fans' favourite scapegoat. Abuses were directed at him and his contribution to Indian cricket was willfully forgotten. And by the time the dust settled, Yuvraj had faded away into oblivion.
The resurgence
For the next couple of years almost, when the heat and the anger had subsided, Yuvraj came to be considered as a legend who had faded away like so many other great men. No one heard much about him except a few stray comments from his father who directed all his wrath and bile at MS Dhoni.
But the Prince of Patiala had bones of steel. He put himself in the reckoning by scoring 398 runs in seven matches in last year's Ranji Trophy. He then followed it up with superlative performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he scored 341 runs in five matches at an astonishing average of 85.25.
The knock on the selectors' door was so hard that he almost barged his way back into the national team. Having been recalled to the T20 squad against Australia, Yuvraj showed glimpses of his old self as he guided India to a memorable win.
Playing second fiddle to Raina, it was Yuvraj Singh, who led the onslaught in the final over when India needed 17 runs to win. The flicked six over square-leg brought instant hopes to Indian fans and made them smile again. In their eyes, Yuvraj had redeemed himself.
But it was in the Asia Cup that Yuvraj Singh found form again. If it was a patient knock against Pakistan where he hung in there to take India home, against Sri Lanka he batted like his old self once again. The flicks were back and so was the old swagger. He followed it up with another good innings against the UAE.
Going into the final, Yuvraj has so far scored 89 runs at a healthy average of 44.50. Among his team-mates, his average is only second to Virat Kohli's in this tournament. And Dhoni has shown that he still has faith in Yuvraj's bowling abilities, often bringing him on ahead of Ashwin and Jadeja in the tournament.
Yuvraj has come away with a bowling average of 4.80 in the tournament so far while also delivering crucial breakthroughs for the team at times. Given that India have long searched for that elusive all-rounder, Yuvraj automatically fits into that slot in limited overs cricket.
Acting as the third spinner who has tons of batting experience, Yuvraj might just be the match-winner for India once again. Yuvraj has been a man on a mission since his comeback. He has a few scores left to settle still. India will be banking on him in the ICC World T20 this year and he could well make the difference in the end. His resurgence could not have come at a better time for India.