5 Top cricketers who were dropped for poor fielding

5. Yuvraj Singh

An evergreen member of several different India line-ups, Yuvraj Singh’s utility as a multidimensional all-rounder made him an immensely valuable asset. Yuvi’s all-round prowess, particularly in white-ball cricket, saw him collect over 8000 runs and 100 wickets in the ODI format; a rare feat in international cricket.

But coupled with those all-round abilities was Yuvi’s exceptional on-field agility. Often labeled as an ‘electric’ fielder by commentators, Yuvraj’s athletic and dynamic build allowed him to star in a variety of fielding roles; from staying positioned close to the wicket, to running long distances on the boundary rope.

His stats certainly give a good indication of that sentiment: in 304 ODI matches, Yuvraj managed to grab 94 catches. There’re not many cricketers, or sportspersons, who can boast of making a comeback to their profession after suffering through something as devastating as cancer. Yuvi, however, even managed to beat those impossible odds, and made a couple of comebacks to the Indian team after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012.

But ever since he made his comeback, Yuvi’s fitness wasn’t quite on par with the level of fitness of the current lot of Indian players. Moreover, his age didn’t allow him to be as flexible on the field as before. Consequently, he couldn’t quite fit in with the team’s high fielding standards in the 2017 Champions Trophy and the West Indies tour later. Sadly, those turned out to be his last international series, as he was dropped in the aftermath.