Yuvraj Singh has been termed \u201cGod\u2019s gift\u201d to Indian cricket by Sandeep Patil, former chairman of national selection committee, but he also said form and fitness will hold the key to the seasoned campaigner\u2019s participation in the 2019 World Cup.<\/p>\n
After being dropped for the Sri Lanka series, Yuvraj Singh was also not considered for the first three one-dayers of the five-match series against Australia at home starting tomorrow, but Sandeep Patil seemed optimistic about another comeback.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fitness and form,\u201d Patil told PTI when asked about the old warhorse\u2019s future in international cricket, keeping in mind the World Cup.<\/p>\n
The former India batsman and coach added:\u201dI am not the selector now. Two years is too long a period and the kind of injuries you have seen, there is too much workload on each player.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old Yuvraj Singh, who last played an ODI against the West Indies in June, became the fifth player to represent the country 300 times in the format when he took to the field against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cYuvraj was like a God\u2019s gift, I have been his ardent fan and I will remain an ardent fan of Yuvraj. But he has to put runs on the board and he has to prove his fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n
A slew of significant milestones that he reached in the recent 5-0 ODI whitewash of Sri Lanka amply demonstrated Mahendra Singh Dhoni\u2019s continuing influence in the limited overs game, and Patil termed him a \u201cspecial player\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be looked after by the professionals, who are working with the Indian team, so it will be wrong on my part to say what is going to happen with Dhoni, Yuvraj. But they are special cricketers, I wish I had even five percent of what they (kind of talent) have,\u201d the 61-year-old Patil, a former India batsman, said.<\/p>\n
Patil, who headed the selection committee from 2012 to 2016, oversaw a period of transition in Indian cricket with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman walking into international sunset.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a very difficult task of replacing players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and get these youngsters. Somewhere, in my mind, I am very happy that the bold decisions which we took are giving tremendous results.\u201d<\/p>\n
He praised Hardik Pandya\u2019s development as a player but when asked about the comparisons drawn with Kapil Dev, Patil said it will take him 200 births to take the legendary all- rounder\u2019s place.<\/p>\n
He also lauded the current selection committee\u2019s move to rest the top spin duo of Ravichandran Aswhin and Ravindra Jadeja, saying his panel had also tried doing similar things.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged the Indian cricket team \u00efs dominating world cricket at the moment, but it remains to be seen how it performs in South Africa and England next summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndian team is at the top now, they are in top form, they are in top fitness, the combination, everything is going right. But, if you look at the history of cricket, about every 10 years things changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was West Indies who ruled the 1950s and 60s, then it was Australia, then it was Pakistan, South Africa and now India is ruling so it would be very wrong of me to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cricket, it\u2019s a funny game, you have to go out there, start afresh. Every day is fresh, every over is fresh, every ball is fresh and to repeat that is not easy. India is playing great cricket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be an acid test for India (touring South Africa and England), and for that matter if you look at the history of each team, whenever each team has travelled away from their home countries they have struggled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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