Gautam Gambhir gives his opinion about the selection call on Yuvraj Singh

Out of favour Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir believes that it will be difficult for veteran all-rounder Yuvraj Singh to make a comeback into the national side. The skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders also said that the term ‘rest’ should not be used for someone who is looking to make a comeback in the team.

Earlier, Yuvraj failed to make it to the squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. He along with experienced middle-order batsman Suresh Raina were ignored for the Lankan tour. Manish Pandey got a call-up, courtesy an outstanding performance during the tri-nation A series in South Africa. Pandey captained the India A side and played a vital role in their triumph.

Rest is not the right term: Gambhir

“I don’t think ‘rest’ is the right word because he (Yuvraj) hasn’t played any cricket for quite a while and he would be wanting to play. If you want to see him at the World Cup, he should be given the maximum opportunity. Because, someone like Yuvraj, you want him in that flow, you want him in that rhythm. You can’t have someone like him playing in one series and resting thereafter,” Gambhir told Cricinfo.

Failing the yo-yo?

It was earlier reported that Yuvraj, as well as Raina, were left out as they failed to pass the Yo-Yo test. However, a source close to the selection committee had told Times of India that it wasn’t the reason for their omission.

“The Yo-Yo test is done to assess the aerobic fitness of an individual. However, it is not just that one aspect that decides a player’s fitness levels. There are many other tests that are done to measure the strength, flexibility, speed, power, agility, core strength etc. I don’t think the BCCI would drop or remove somebody just based on the report of one test,“ said Ramji Srinivasan, who was a trainer in the Indian cricket team from 2009 to 2013, echoing the source’s opinion.