Yuvraj Singh has his fitness to blame rather than his form, says Saba Karim

The Indians will take on the hosts Sri Lanka in a 5 match ODI series after their triumph in the Test series at the island nation. The Indian selection committee led by MSK Prasad announced the name of the players who will be a part of the squad for the limited over battle. While some of the bright youngsters made it to the squad, senior cricketer Yuvraj Singh faced the axe.

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Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim had his say on the omission of the left handed power hitter. According to Saba Karim, the main reason behind not including Yuvraj in the squad is the cricketer’s deteriorating fitness. The batsman’s recent struggle with his form is also a factor that was considered but the primary concern was his fitness.

“Yuvi is a fighter but I believe going into the 2019 World Cup, it is more to do with his fitness rather than just form. Look, there’s a difference between 20-over fitness and 50-over fitness,” said Saba Karim.

Karim was a national selector and the member of the previous selection panel. Karim highlighted that Yuvraj Singh was brought back by their team in 2015 because of his immense experience and his ability to perform in the shorter formats. Having said that, Karim stated that a promising talent like Manish Pandey deserves the opportunity he got.

“It was our panel, who got Yuvraj back in 2015 for the Australia T20. At that point, we were looking only at the World T20 in India and Yuvraj’s experience. But now it’s different. I believe Manish (Pandey) is a great talent and should be given enough opportunities,” added Karim.

“We have little over one and half years to the World Cup. The core team needs to get 40 matches at least. And Manish has done extremely well as India A captain. And he is perhaps one of the best fielders in current Indian line-up,” concluded Karim.