Yuvraj Singh has been dropped. This news has come as a bomb for the prince of Punjab. In what has been a sign of 'enough is enough' the selectors have sent out a warning to Yuvi to get fit soon or face the axe even for the World Cup. The dashing batsman is out of the Aussie series and will have to fight it out to secure a place in the squad for the series against New Zealand that follows immediately afterwards.
Yuvraj however has come out and said he was bitterly disappointed and refuted talk of poor form and fitness. "Selection is not in my hands. In Sri Lanka I played two games, in the first I scored a hundred and a fifty in the second. If that's not good enough, I can't say," he said.
"Not a great feeling. For the last seven years I have been trying to cement my place in the Test team but have not been able to do that. And that is a big disappointment. The reasons may be many. The first reason even I don't know," he added.
" If I continue to be dropped like this, definitely I will have to look for something else," he said jokingly.
Yuvraj has said he is not out of form. We are certainly baffled by what he has said. Do statistics lie?
Yuvraj's form book
Yuvraj has been dreadfully out of form in recent times. In 2010, he has played in 3 test matches and has averaged just 23.5. His total test score for the year is 92 and his best effort came against Sri Lanka in the Galle test, where he made 52 in one of the innings.
His ODI form has been nothing to write home about either. In 9 ODIs this year, Yuvraj has averaged 21 with the bat and has not scored a single 100. This is not the first time such a situation has come for the gifted batsman, who has lost it completely in recent times, both physically and mentally. If he is complaining, he must take a look at his fellow countrymen in the same game, who have toiled for years now and yet struggle to find a place leave alone cementing one.
Many better than Yuvi
If Yuvraj has reasons to say words like 'if that was not good enough', MSN now takes a look at 5 other players who will have a 101 questions.
Cheteshwar Pujara
Pujara has been the in-form player in Indian domestic cricket for some time now. His selection for the Oz series has been automated after a double hundred against West Indies 'A' side in June this year. It is very hard to forget that sensational triple hundred he got against Orissa 2 years ago. If that was not enough, Pujara got himself another double hundred the last Ranji tournament and finished the season with an outstanding average of 79. He is just 22 and technically one of the brightest prospects to play the longest version.
Pujara's Ranji Season 2009-10
Matches Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
5 554 204 N.O 79.14 1 4
Why so much fuss about Yuvraj being dropped?
Subramaniam Badrinath
A name that is now more popular in Australia than India one would have to say after his exploits in the Emerging Players' tournament down under over the last 2 to 3 years. Badri has been 'The Wall' for Tamil Nadu and scored a mammoth 599 runs during the last season. Mammoth considering Tamil Nadu could not progress past the quarterfinal stage. His average for the season was a staggering 85.57.
Badrinath's Ranji season 2009-10
Matches Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
6 599 250 85.87 3 2
Manoj Tiwary
Tiwary has been hanging around for some time now. He has been making the 14 but finds it difficult to make the playing XI. Not the player to lose heart, Tiwary invariably looks at domestic cricket season after season to keep him going. And that has helped him. His Ranji season of 2009 wasn't the best by his standards and yet he managed to eek out an average of 57.
Tiwary's Ranji season 2009-10
Matches Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
5 399 107 57.5 1 3
Virat Kohli
Another prodigious talent, Virat Kohli has tested his guns on ODI and T20 formats. Now is the time for the 23-year-old to make it bigger and scale to the next level of cricket. Busy with national duty at most times, Kohli made sure he was there for Delhi whenever he was free. And didn't that make a difference? Just 3 matches and Kohli scored a huge 374 runs at no less than 93 a piece.
Virat Kohli's Ranji season 2009-10
Matches Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
3 374 145 93.5 1 2
jinkya Rahane
Hailing from the same place as master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, cricket comes naturally for Ajinkya Rahane. He played a big role in helping Mumbai win the Ranji trophy last year. Didn't do much in the final at Mysore but his tournament record speaks for itself. 809 runs with an average of 73.54. Can't get much better.
Ajinkya Rahane's Ranji season 2009-10
Matches Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
9 809 265 N.O 73.5 3 3
The biggest problem with Yuvraj throughout his cricketing career has been domestic cricket or the lack of it. Among the current generation players, Yuvraj is notorious for missing out on domestic cricket for prolonged periods.
Yuvraj's first-class record
Matches Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
91 5523 209 43.46 17 26
He hardly plays first-class cricket. In his career spanning so many years, Yuvi has played only 91first-class matches and averages a modest 43. Compare this with someone like VVS Laxman, who bats in almost the same position as Yuvi does. 244 first-class matches.
What should Yuvraj do now?
Pack his kit bag and head to the nearest ground, which is host to domestic cricket. Yuvi might not have those beauties glaring at him in domestic matches and may be that will help him focus better.
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