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Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007
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Yuvraj Singh will have to wait

S. Dinakar

Running hot in ODIs, Test place remains elusive for the southpaw

Yuvraj has to stay focussed and not let his spirit drop: Wadekar
He has 830 runs from 19 Tests at 33.20

— Photo: PTI

WAITING IN THE WINGS: Anil Kumble says he is not in favour of putting needless pressure on the seniors just to include Yuvraj Singh.

New Delhi: Yuvraj Singh walked out of the old pavilion at Ferozeshah Kotla escorted by bodyguards. His calm demeanour could not mask a sense of restlessness.

The punishing left-hander is running hot in the ODIs. A Test place, however, remains elusive. Age and time are in Yuvraj’s favour but these are two elements that do not stay still.

“He (Yuvraj) has to wait,” said Anil Kumble ahead of the first Test. The Indian captain acknowledged that the situation was sad but gave enough indications that he was not in favour of needless pressure being put on the seniors.

Kumble was proved right. Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman delivered in the Indian middle-order with efforts of critical importance in the first Test.

“You see the seniors, who have the experience and the temperament, have done well and it would not be fair to drop them just to accommodate Yuvraj. He will get his chance. He has to stay focussed and not let his spirit drop,” former India captain Ajit Wadekar told The Hindu.

Attacking left-hander

The value of an attacking left-hander in the middle-order cannot be over-emphasised. As Ganguly showed at the Kotla, a right-left combination can pose tough questions to the fielding side.

The bowlers are forced to switch line and this is easier said than done. Just when he was threatening to run through in the second innings, someone as experienced as Shoaib Akhtar ran into a roadblock in the form of Ganguly.

The pace spearhead was forced to go round the wicket to the left-hander and was taken for runs by Ganguly. The left-handers can also be extremely effective against the leg-spinners and the left-arm spinners since they can stroke with the spin.

Ganguly’s second innings 48 at the Kotla was worth more than what the number indicates. Apart from attacking Akhtar in a deliberate ploy, he did not allow Kaneria to settle down. Kaneria too was forced to operate from round the wicket and Ganguly collected runs square off the wicket.

Unlike Ganguly, Yuvraj tends to read quality spinners from the pitch rather than the hand and this does work against him. Dada is a superior player of the spinning ball.

Right mix

Perhaps India requires another southpaw in the top six to arrive at the right mix. But then, Laxman is a class act and he is performing. Given that the tour of Australia looms, it would only be wise to keep Laxman in the scheme of things. The smooth-stroking Hyderabadi has been deeply influential against the Aussies.

The other option would be to accommodate Yuvraj in the top-order — this comprises the openers and the No. 3 — however Yuvraj is not a top-order bat.

Given his lack of feet movement in the early phase, Yuvraj can be vulnerable to the delivery leaving him. In fact, the ploy to send him at the top of the order in the home series against Australia in 2004, actually set back Yuvraj’s career. In Test cricket, he is no opener or No. 3.

Dinesh Karthik was not among the runs as an opener in the first Test here, but has the firm backing of the skipper. Kumble highlighted Karthik’s displays as an opener in England and his contribution as a fielder here. In other words, Karthik deserves a fair run.

Yuvraj has 830 runs from 19 Tests at 33.20. Both his Test hundreds — a well-constructed effort on a seaming wicket in Lahore (2004) and a blazing back-to-the-wall innings in Karachi (2006) — have come against Pakistan.

The logic says play the man in form, but Yuvraj will have to wait.

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