Yuvraj's inclusion was a collective decision by the selection committee: MSK Prasad

After 35 years old Yuvraj Singh was included in the ODI squad for the series against England, many critics and former cricketers raised eyebrows as they felt the board was going in the backward direction and not allowing a youngster to come in the team. But after a scintillating display of batsmanship from the southpaw in Cuttack where he scored his career-best 150, Indian chairman of selectors MSK Prasad will be a relieved man. Yuvraj’s innings helped India gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3 match series.

“Yuvraj’s inclusion was a collective decision by the selection committee and he had no backing from a particular person of the team management. Yuvraj had a good run in the Ranji Trophy and cracked hundreds and double hundreds. He looked hungrier for runs and we wanted to give him a chance against England so that he can continue his good form with the bat on the international stage too. We all are happy that he came up with such a brilliant knock yesterday and helped the team win the match. We hope he will maintain his form in the last ODI as well as in the T20s,” Prasad was quoted as saying by the Times of India on Friday.

Indian captain Virat Kohli had earlier said that Yuvraj was included in the squad to provide the much-needed stability and experience in the middle-order to lower down the burden on MS Dhoni and Prasad was also of the same views.

“Yes, that’s a huge plus to have a batsman like Yuvraj in the middle-order. The way he batted it proved once again that experience matters at this level. Yuvraj’s inclusion in the side has strengthened our belief and confidence,” Prasad added.

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Despite applauding Yuvraj on his stupendous innings he remained reluctant to answer whether Yuvraj had already booked his place for the Champions Trophy in England later this year. “It’s too early to talk about that as there are still five months left for it. Moreover, fitness plays a big role when it comes to selection. We want to be fair to every single player and performance will be counted. Our decision may backfire sometimes but our intention will never go wrong,” he concluded.