The way to go Yuvi

Published : Nov 22, 2008 00:00 IST

K. R. DEEPAK
K. R. DEEPAK
lightbox-info

K. R. DEEPAK

Yuvraj Singh should capitalise on Sourav Ganguly’s retirement to fill the No. 6 slot in the Indian Test team. Given his natural rate of scoring, he could potentially work well with the tail, writes Nandita Sridhar.

Talent, in cricketing parlance, exists and subsists in its ambiguity. Grace is talent, style is talent, power is talent, defence is talent; even idiosyncrasies thrive on talent. It’s no wonder the game leaves its followers bemoaning a dossier of wasted talent. Arrogance is the consequence of talent, bloody-mindedness compensates for talent. The skewed science of understanding talent in a complex sport like cricket is second only to reading body language.

Yuvraj Singh’s troubles lie with the definition, perception and the understanding of his talent. There isn’t the deception of laboured defence, technical mastery or a brooding disposition that followers of Test cricket can take comfort in, neither is there a convincing one-dimensioness in his game for ODIs to claim sole proprietorship. Yuvraj should belong to Test cricket, yet he isn’t a natural fit.

The left-hander’s stroke-making is at once graceful, dazzling and violent, each surfacing with ludicrous ease despite a delightfully precarious backlift. In ODIs he is an undisputed match-winner, with India having won 35 of the 47 matches in which he has scored more than 50 runs (including the Indore ODI). But most of us, suckers as we are for artistry, yearn for the large, richly rewarding and expansive canvas of Test cricket to watch talent manifest itself completely. Until Yuvraj accomplishes that, the label of ‘wasted talent’ remains unchanged.

Three hundreds in 23 Test matches in eight years of international cricket reveal something isn’t right. In themselves, the centuries have been significant.

Yuvraj’s three Test hundreds have come against Pakistan, when the side had been in trouble. On a green top in Lahore in 2004, India was 94 for four and 147 for seven. In Karachi in 2006, it was 74 for four, with Mohammed Asif in the middle of a deadly spell. In the Bangalore Test, India was 61 for four when Yuvraj walked in.

The left-hander’s last Test century — 169 against Pakistan in Bangalore — was stunning and defiant. Shots were released with a vengeful, subversive intent, particularly the bread-and-butter sixes over mid-wicket — all wristy — that most often were summoned as evidences of his obvious potential. When he scores, battle-hardened critics and writers, usually adept at shunning hyperboles, cannot resist comparisons with Garry Sobers’ touch, Viv Richards’ swagger and Brian Lara’s audacious fluidity.

Swagger needs just a moment of indiscretion to appear vacuously pompous. The force of Yuvraj’s personality that surfaces in his brilliance is equally purposeful in pulling him down when he fails. His failures appear severe since his successes are spectacular, his shots inconceivable, his hitting incandescent.

Following his hundred last year against Pakistan in Bangalore, the left-hander notched up scores of 2, 0, 5, 12, 0 and 32 in the away series against Australia and the home series against South Africa. Before that century, his six Test scores were 13, 19, 8 n.o., 0, 2 and 39. When the runs have come, they have been in a compensatory torrent, releasing frustrations of being sorted out, tested mentally and questioned persistently. Thereafter, there’s been a struggle to sustain and retain focus.

One-day cricket, so much caught in the moment, parades successes and conceals failures in its own meaninglessness. Yuvraj’s technical flaws, lifestyle and attitude have each enjoyed extended runs in justifying his vilification. There’s no denying the role of all three in his Test failures; but flaws in his technique —difficulties against the moving ball and quality spin — aren’t singularly convincing enough to stamp him as a one-day specialist. Surely, Yuvraj can be a lot more than a batsman who scores on friendly pitches against favourable bowling on good days when injury-free and when in the right frame of mind, in the middle-order, as most claim. Surely, he can average more than 32.81 in Tests.

The mental adjustment to the longer form, as has been pointed out in the past, is what will be expected of the 26-year-old. Battling for a place in a batting order comprising the ‘Fab Four’ wasn’t easy, which is why Yuvraj now needs to capitalise on Sourav Ganguly’s retirement. As a number six, his natural rate of scoring could potentially work well with the tail.

Being a lot more experienced than the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and S. Badrinath, all spoken of as potential Test number sixes, Yuvraj has earned the right for the spot; a right that should inspire confidence, rather than harbour complacency.

But discerning the mental turnaround is intriguing and particularly infuriating. It could take one innings, one inexplicable moment, one incident or a lot more for efforts in the direction of change to materialise. If nothing else, his centuries in Rajkot and Indore could be the catharsis needed to allow the right mental makeup for engineering the turnaround.

Before anything else, the self-belief that had suffered due to poor form needed urgent restoration. “I did not go into the match (Rajkot) with the intention of proving anything to anyone other than myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I was good enough to play at this level,” said Yuvraj who has more than 6000 ODI runs.

Yuvraj’s innings in Rajkot and Indore might earn him a spot in the Test squad, but keeping his place would require a lot more. A vacant No. 6 spot, the maturity that will come with his age and experience, and his current form have aligned themselves for him to seize the moment and make it count.

More stories from this issue

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment