The Yuvraj Singh conundrum

Yuvraj Singh was instrumental in India’s twin World Cup wins in 2007 and 2011. He was named the Player of the Tournament in the 2011 edition held in India for his fine all-round contributions. That memorable night in Mumbai followed one of the darkest phases of Yuvraj’s life as he was diagnosed with cancer towards the end of the year.

After battling for life, Yuvraj emerged victorious by fighting it out against a life-threatening disease. He couldn’t wait to get back to cricket and vowed to win his place back in the national side. The southpaw won his place back in the T20s which followed 3 Test appearances and a handful of ODIs. Yuvraj did okay in the shortest format, which is known as his strongest forte, but struggled in the rest two. Because of his decent showings in T20, the left-hander was given an extended run in ODI cricket. But 19 games could result in just 278 runs at a poor average of 18.53 with just two half-centuries in 16 innings. He was subsequently dropped from the side following the ODI series in South Africa in late 2013.

Following an extraordinary run in the Ranji Trophy, Yuvraj was recalled into the ODI side after spending more than three years out of the set-up. He made a rousing comeback making a memorable career-best 150 in only his second game after the return against England at Cuttack. He posted scores of 45 and 53 in the next two games but the authoritative aspect of his game has been missing. In 9 innings since his comeback, he has scored 333 runs at 41.62 but 75% of his runs have come in the above three innings. It has been a famine or feast kind of story for the 35-year old.

Of late, he has been taking a lot of time to get going in his innings early on. While it is absolutely okay as he has a wide array of strokes and can make up towards the end but it looks ugly when he gets out midway and the final flourish never happens. Virat Kohli has backed him immensely but keeping the 2019 World Cup in mind, Yuvraj sadly makes a very bleak case for himself. No. 4 is a pivotal position in ODI cricket and should be held by someone who can get into an innings very smoothly. Kohli wants Yuvraj for the latter’s experience and if that is a case, Yuvraj can still figure in the XI but must be looked at an option at No. 5 or 6.

Indian cricket is bustling with talented batsmen and we bring you 5 players who are capable of replacing Yuvraj at No. 4 in ODIs:

1) Kedar Jadhav

Currently, Jadhav is India’s best bet at No. 4. The Maharashtra batsman has shown what he is capable of doing in his short ODI career. He has had just 14 innings to bat out of 22 ODIs so far in which he has scored 515 runs at 57.22. Both of his centuries have come at the No. 6 position which speaks volumes about his attacking instincts. Not many average more than 50 in Indian domestic List ‘A’ cricket and Jadhav has done that at a staggering strike rate of 108.81. He has all the attributes of succeeding at the pivotal No. 4 spot.

2) Manish Pandey

Pandey posted an elegant 71 on debut against Zimbabwe and then scripted a memorable win for India in Sydney scoring 104* in a chase of 331 against Australia. His knocked needed just 81 balls and came at the No. 4 position. The poise and mental strength Pandey showed in only his 4th international game were exemplary. Pandey was shortly dropped from the XI after scoring just 76 runs at 19 in 5 games against New Zealand in late 2016. He was initially in the squad for the Champions Trophy but had to skip the mega event due to an injury. India must look at Pandey as a long term option. He is only 27 and is expert at getting the ones and twos early in his innings, which is a must for a No. 4 batsman.

3) KL Rahul

Karnataka batsman Rahul was always considered a Test specialist, an imagined he shunned in the 2016 IPL much to everyone’s surprise. Following a successful IPL, Rahul was given a chance in 6 ODIs and 8 T20s for India where he recorded a century and a half-century each in either format. Rahul has remodelled his game and can now play the attacking shots in limited overs cricket. He is another candidate who could do the job for India at No. 4. He is an opening batsman otherwise but given that Shikhar and Rohit have brought overwhelming results in the past, Rahul can bide his time in the middle order for a while. He has scored his T20 century batting at No. 4 and was often used as a middle batsman by RCB last year. The 24-year old is currently recuperating a shoulder injury but should be back in action soon.

4) Dinesh Karthik

Karthik has shown a rich vein of form in 50-over cricket for Tamil Nadu which has culminated into two title wins for the state – Vijay Hazare Trophy and Deodhar Trophy – where Karthik recorded centuries in either final. Such form can never be ignored and the 32-year old saw himself earn a ticket to England for the Champions Trophy. The right-hander impressed in one of the warm-up games scoring an unbeaten 94 but didn’t get a single game in the tournament. Karthik has a sound technique and is more than capable of playing big shots at the end. He also has the experience to step into the shoes of Yuvraj at No. 4.

5) Sanju Samson/ Shreyas Iyer

Both Iyer and Samson are only 22 and represent Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. The duo has immense talents which need to be nurtured in the right manner. They have already shown glimpses of brilliance in their IPL careers. India must blood them in bilateral series against teams like West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Game time at the top level early in their careers will give them a world of good. In the meanwhile, Samson and Iyer must score runs heavily in the domestic circuit.

Apart from the above candidates, India has options like the experienced Manoj Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa. All of them have played for India before and still have it in them to perform at this level for at least a couple of years.