For a man who has seen so much success in the shorter formats of the game and was instrumental in helping India win the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup, it really comes as a million dollar question as to why he is unable to translate the same success in the longer version of the game. He has been plagued with injuries during many test series and in the others he has failed to grab the opportunity and cement his place in the Test side.
Yuvraj Singh’s jinxed Test Career
Yuvraj’s ODI debut came in 2000 but only in 2003 did he get the opportunity to play his first Test match in place of Sourav Ganguly. The second Test match he got was also because Ganguly was out with an injury. The selectors are to be blamed for not inducting him into the team earlier and giving him the much needed break as they were bent on playing the ‘Fab Four’ in all the Test matches then. This narrow-minded approach has once again seen him axed from the team at a critical juncture in his career.
Right before the India-West Indies series Yuvraj said, “It’s the right time to focus on my career. I want to be remembered as a good batsman in the longer format of the game. I have always tried to give my best shot whenever on the field but unfortunately injury issues were there. In the upcoming series against West Indies and Australia, I want to score big and make a mark in the Test format. I want to restructure my Test career and I’ll raise the bar this time”.
When the selectors announced the team for the third Test on Thursday, the man who said the above word would have indeed been devastated considering that he was trying really hard to become a regular feature in the Test outfit. With a number of youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Chetashwar Pujara putting up good performances in the domestic levels, Yuvraj’s chances have gotten tougher and the selectors too do not seem to be backing him up.
Everyone including MS Dhoni believes that it has been tough on him but the cruel reality is that they haven’t shown enough confidence on someone who has done wonders for the country in the shorter forms and who hasn’t really got the opportunity to start firing in the purest form of the game due to injuries and selection woes. He is not getting any younger and how he rises from this setback and resurrects his Test career is anybody’s guess.
Tags: Career, Cricket, India, Test Cricket, Test Match, Yuvraj Singh
