India being a cricket crazy nation and thousands of youngsters taking up the game dreaming of making it big one day and representing the Indian Cricket team, it is not surprising that every now and then it keeps on producing some fresh new faces (more so in case of batting) with a potential of being a good player at the highest level. But they go as they come and the search for the new potential great players with the ability to take up the mantle from the batch of 73 (Sachin, Saurav and Rahul) still continues. Among these youngsters was a player with immense talent and his potential of being a great player for India was recognized by anyone who saw him bat in the U-19 World Cup in January 2000. It was none other than Yuvraj Singh, the tall, lanky left hander with a lazy demeanor who would transform into a stylish, hard hitting yet classy and a fearless batsman with the bat in his hand. He dominated the bowling attacks in the WC and easily built a reputation of being a match winner with the ability to clear the boundary with ease and at will. Winning the U-19 World Cup provided him the perfect launch pad to perform and get noticed by the National Selection Committee to earn a call up for the national duty. His performances did not go unnoticed and he was immediately sent to the then newly formed National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
India, known for its tradition of blooding players at a very young age, Yuvraj did not have to wait long to represent the Indian team in colored clothing. He made his debut against Kenya at Nairobi, in the ICC Knockout Trophy in Oct. 2000, billed as the "Mini World Cup". He did not get much of a chance in that game but it was the next match that marked his arrival onto the big stage. It was the perfect set up to stamp his authority and cement his place in the ODI team, and he delivered in grand style. It was the quarterfinal against Australia, with India being put in to bat. Yuvraj batting at the number 5 position, came in to join Vinod Kambli at the crease with the team in a precarious situation having lost the big three (Sachin, Saurav and Rahul) with the score at 90. Yuvraj occupied the crease and played one his most memorable innings in the ODIs. He scored a jaw dropping 84 in only 80 balls, never showing any nerves of playing against the World Champions in a knock out match. He played his natural game with much aplomb, taking the attack to the Aussie bowlers even though the wickets fell regularly at the other end. He helped India to a decent total of 265 that India managed to successfully defend. As a result Yuvraj became an overnight star and it was as if he was destined to become the next big thing in Indian Cricket.
However, as everything that shines is not gold, Yuvraj's scintillating performance was only a momentary flash of brilliance that he could not produce on a regular basis. The failures and inconsistency were attributed to his youth and lack of experience and over the years the selection committees always backed him to come good and deliver based on his talent. He kept on struggling for consistency but kept on producing a match winning innings that would re-affirm the faith and trust that the Indian fans and the selectors showed in him. One such innings was in the Natwest Series Final at Lord's against England where the hosts had scored 325/5 with the help of fine centuries by their captain Nasser Hussain and opener Marcus Trescothick. It was always going to be a formidable total for Indians to chase but they set up the chase in the best possible manner with Virender Sehwag and Captain Sourav Ganguly providing a flying start. The duo had an opening stand of 106 in a little over 14 overs. Ganguly went first and was soon followed by Sehwag allowing England to get back into the game. The next 3 batsmen could add only 40 runs to the total and India was looking at a big defeat being 146-5 even before the 25 overs mark was reached. Yuvraj Singh and Mohd. Kaif played the innings of their lives building a partnership of 121 runs from just 17.4 overs. Yuvraj again showed no fear and played his natural attacking game scoring 69 off 63 balls studded with 9 fours and a six. Although Mohd. Kaif played equally well, the finesse in Yuvraj's strokes was breathtaking. He took the attack to the English bowlers who had no clue where to bowl him at. Again, the hopes were raised in the hearts of Indian fans that a prospective legend had finally matured and understood his responsibility. It was all too flattering to deceive as Yuvraj failed to gain any consistency, yet again.
India then were fortunate to get Greg Chappell as coach in 2005, who emphasized on selecting a team based on performance and not on reputation. He had made it clear that one had to perform well to be in the team and would remain in the team only if one performed consistently at the highest level. Many players including Yuvraj had criticized this policy alleging that the players were under too much pressure to perform. But as some of the senior players were shown the door based on their poor performances, players did not have any other choice but to perform well. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Yuvraj as he had the best three years of his cricketing career under Greg Chappell. He appeared to have matured and become responsible after being appointed as the Vice Captain of the ODI team. He averaged 41.95, 53.06 and 45.96 in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. This was the longest run of consistency that he has exhibited in his entire cricketing career till now. Once Greg Chappell's term as the coach got over (after the early exit from the WC 2007) Yuvraj Singh appears to have gone back to his old ways, playing short, exquisite innings reminding everyone of how gifted a player he is, but getting out playing reckless and irresponsible shots way too often to get dismissed cheaply. He has failed to show any grit and determination to struggle it out in the middle if the batting conditions are not favorable, his weakness against quality spin bowling has become even worse. It seems he has failed to put in any amount of effort to work on his batting against spin bowling as his weakness against a turning ball has become way too obvious and one is not surprised to see him being easily foxed by the spinners. Off late he has been able to get high scores only against weaker sides on flat batting tracks of the subcontinent. The only exception being the T20 World Cup where he played some memorable innings in crucial matches. But the Australian tour that followed was his worst and he struggled to get a decent score throughout the tour (including the practice games, test matches and the Tri-Series).
What has been disturbing even more is the way he has been publicly speaking of harbouring dreams of being the ODI captain of India. He should just have a look at his batting record, he has been playing for Indian for 9 years and still at no point in his career till date has his career batting average touched 40 (which is considered the benchmark for good players). It would be much more beneficial for him personally as well as the Indian fans if he let his bat do the talking instead of using his mouth. It has been baffling to see his statements about critics slamming him for his partying ways off the field, defending it as his personal life and stating that he wants to live his life to the fullest. Well, no one really cares what he does off the field as long as he performs well on it. It is high time the Indian selectors took a heed of things going on with Yuvraj and make him aware of his run scoring duties. Make him realize that playing for India is not a child's play and demands a lot of discipline on personal level. The fans have been patient thus far but I guess their patience has started to give away as well, that is the reason it did not surprise anyone when he was dropped from the test side that has been picked for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. It is really important for him to realize this at the earliest or else he will be forgotten soon and will be an addition to the long list of cricketers who had the talent but could not leave their mark at the highest level. He has been fortunate enough to have survived for 9 years at the highest level, but it seems that even the time is running out on him.
India, known for its tradition of blooding players at a very young age, Yuvraj did not have to wait long to represent the Indian team in colored clothing. He made his debut against Kenya at Nairobi, in the ICC Knockout Trophy in Oct. 2000, billed as the "Mini World Cup". He did not get much of a chance in that game but it was the next match that marked his arrival onto the big stage. It was the perfect set up to stamp his authority and cement his place in the ODI team, and he delivered in grand style. It was the quarterfinal against Australia, with India being put in to bat. Yuvraj batting at the number 5 position, came in to join Vinod Kambli at the crease with the team in a precarious situation having lost the big three (Sachin, Saurav and Rahul) with the score at 90. Yuvraj occupied the crease and played one his most memorable innings in the ODIs. He scored a jaw dropping 84 in only 80 balls, never showing any nerves of playing against the World Champions in a knock out match. He played his natural game with much aplomb, taking the attack to the Aussie bowlers even though the wickets fell regularly at the other end. He helped India to a decent total of 265 that India managed to successfully defend. As a result Yuvraj became an overnight star and it was as if he was destined to become the next big thing in Indian Cricket.
However, as everything that shines is not gold, Yuvraj's scintillating performance was only a momentary flash of brilliance that he could not produce on a regular basis. The failures and inconsistency were attributed to his youth and lack of experience and over the years the selection committees always backed him to come good and deliver based on his talent. He kept on struggling for consistency but kept on producing a match winning innings that would re-affirm the faith and trust that the Indian fans and the selectors showed in him. One such innings was in the Natwest Series Final at Lord's against England where the hosts had scored 325/5 with the help of fine centuries by their captain Nasser Hussain and opener Marcus Trescothick. It was always going to be a formidable total for Indians to chase but they set up the chase in the best possible manner with Virender Sehwag and Captain Sourav Ganguly providing a flying start. The duo had an opening stand of 106 in a little over 14 overs. Ganguly went first and was soon followed by Sehwag allowing England to get back into the game. The next 3 batsmen could add only 40 runs to the total and India was looking at a big defeat being 146-5 even before the 25 overs mark was reached. Yuvraj Singh and Mohd. Kaif played the innings of their lives building a partnership of 121 runs from just 17.4 overs. Yuvraj again showed no fear and played his natural attacking game scoring 69 off 63 balls studded with 9 fours and a six. Although Mohd. Kaif played equally well, the finesse in Yuvraj's strokes was breathtaking. He took the attack to the English bowlers who had no clue where to bowl him at. Again, the hopes were raised in the hearts of Indian fans that a prospective legend had finally matured and understood his responsibility. It was all too flattering to deceive as Yuvraj failed to gain any consistency, yet again.
India then were fortunate to get Greg Chappell as coach in 2005, who emphasized on selecting a team based on performance and not on reputation. He had made it clear that one had to perform well to be in the team and would remain in the team only if one performed consistently at the highest level. Many players including Yuvraj had criticized this policy alleging that the players were under too much pressure to perform. But as some of the senior players were shown the door based on their poor performances, players did not have any other choice but to perform well. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Yuvraj as he had the best three years of his cricketing career under Greg Chappell. He appeared to have matured and become responsible after being appointed as the Vice Captain of the ODI team. He averaged 41.95, 53.06 and 45.96 in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. This was the longest run of consistency that he has exhibited in his entire cricketing career till now. Once Greg Chappell's term as the coach got over (after the early exit from the WC 2007) Yuvraj Singh appears to have gone back to his old ways, playing short, exquisite innings reminding everyone of how gifted a player he is, but getting out playing reckless and irresponsible shots way too often to get dismissed cheaply. He has failed to show any grit and determination to struggle it out in the middle if the batting conditions are not favorable, his weakness against quality spin bowling has become even worse. It seems he has failed to put in any amount of effort to work on his batting against spin bowling as his weakness against a turning ball has become way too obvious and one is not surprised to see him being easily foxed by the spinners. Off late he has been able to get high scores only against weaker sides on flat batting tracks of the subcontinent. The only exception being the T20 World Cup where he played some memorable innings in crucial matches. But the Australian tour that followed was his worst and he struggled to get a decent score throughout the tour (including the practice games, test matches and the Tri-Series).
What has been disturbing even more is the way he has been publicly speaking of harbouring dreams of being the ODI captain of India. He should just have a look at his batting record, he has been playing for Indian for 9 years and still at no point in his career till date has his career batting average touched 40 (which is considered the benchmark for good players). It would be much more beneficial for him personally as well as the Indian fans if he let his bat do the talking instead of using his mouth. It has been baffling to see his statements about critics slamming him for his partying ways off the field, defending it as his personal life and stating that he wants to live his life to the fullest. Well, no one really cares what he does off the field as long as he performs well on it. It is high time the Indian selectors took a heed of things going on with Yuvraj and make him aware of his run scoring duties. Make him realize that playing for India is not a child's play and demands a lot of discipline on personal level. The fans have been patient thus far but I guess their patience has started to give away as well, that is the reason it did not surprise anyone when he was dropped from the test side that has been picked for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. It is really important for him to realize this at the earliest or else he will be forgotten soon and will be an addition to the long list of cricketers who had the talent but could not leave their mark at the highest level. He has been fortunate enough to have survived for 9 years at the highest level, but it seems that even the time is running out on him.
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