Aug 10 2009
The Crown Prince of Indian cricket
In the late 90s under Mohammad Azharuddin and then the man himself, it was pretty much clear that for India to win, Sachin Tendulkar had to fire. Then in Sourav Ganguly’s era, it became Rahul Dravid’ s onus most of the time to see India through. However, in that duration only, a young player was beginning to emerge, who along with Dravid played many a part in successful Indian run chases, the most famous one being the victory over arch rivals Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup. And when Rahul became captain, Yuvraj Singh finally stepped out of the shadows. India’s crown prince in-waiting is now ready to be adjudged the team’s most dependable batsman, for the time being in the ODIs.
Yuvraj burst onto the scene in 2001 at an age of 19 years and while his contemporaries have been coming and going, his place in the ODI eleven, is beyond doubt. Along with him was Zaheer, who is still very much in the team but did have a long stint in the wilderness. More importantly, Virender Sehwag and Mohammed Kaif are nowhere near the status Yuvraj enjoys. Even though Sehwag was accorded senior status to him, both in the graded contracts and the team hierarchy, and Kaif was his partner in the Natwest series 2002 spoils, neither of them have shown the consistency of the lad from Punjab. And that is why today he stands where he is.
However, he wasn’t always the batsman he is now. Much of the credit goes not only to Ganguly, Dravid and John Wright, but surprisingly also Greg Chappell. Sourav and Rahul, both as captain have reposed their faith in the young cricketer time and again, especially when he failed after his sparkling debut series. John Wright made no secret of his admiration for Yuvraj’s talent, but it is the effect that Chappell-era had on his career which is certain to raise a few eyebrows.
The comparison with his team mates is actually imperative. When a player enters a team, based on his performances and leadership qualities, he moves up the team hierarchy. That is natural in any sport. And in cricket it is even more important, for at a very young stage, there is a need to determine where a particular player can take his team to. Whether he is just a meticulous player as in case of say Tendulkar or can he contribute with leadership too, say Ganguly. And thus it is only obvious that Yuvraj be compared with not only his younger team mates as to determine a future leader but also the senior members of the team, to be able to determine if he is capable of walking on the path laid by them.
The son of an ex-cricketer Yograj Singh, Yuvraj has had his share of ups and downs in his career. He was dropped after a great initiation to international cricket. Poor string of scores and inability to play quality spin were seen to be his shortcomings. At the same time, two other players were bursting onto Indian cricket’s horizon, Virender Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif. These three young batsmen had the backing of both the captain & the coach John Wright and it was only too obvious that any one of them would be the torch bearer of Indian cricket in the future. None of them disappointed initially.
The years under Wright were some of the best years in Indian cricket, probably since the 1980s. The ODI victory in the Natwest series in England, from an impossible position, finishing runner up in the 2003 World Cup and then the drawn Test series in Australia. But towards the end of his tenure as coach, the team’s form however at best became patchy. And thus some mixed results were achieved. Whenever India batted first and won the match, all the batsmen were making money and good runs, both the seniors and the juniors. The big three, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid averaged a healthy 54, 48 and 58 respectively. The young lot too chipped in heavily with Yuvraj averaging 36, Sehwag at 44 and Mohd. Kaif scored at 38.
But it was when India won chasing matches that a new trend began to emerge. With youngsters like Yuvraj and Kaif in the side, India were able to finish off more matches chasing than they could do ever before. A testimonial to the fact is the average of both the young players, well over 50. But it is in defeat that the brave ones come forward. When India lost their matches batting second, none of the premier batsmen were able to put up good scores. The best among them was Rahul Dravid with 33 per match while Yuvraj was down at 17. And maybe this was the root cause of John Wright’s departure.
Yuvraj Singh as a person doesn’t take well to criticisms. Albeit he comes out fighting and challenges himself to excel. This was seen when he was first dropped. Back then he made a strong comeback after being dropped for two series, in the Coca Cola cup in Sri Lanka in 2001. This time the adversary was far stronger. It was Greg Chappell, the new Indian coach who had questioned his work ethics and commitment. And bang on, Yuvraj replied with a gutsy performance in the Indian Oil cup, again in Sri Lanka in 2005, averaging 48 in 4 games, with a ton included in a must win game against West Indies. No wonder he describes this series as the turning point in his career.
While Chappell’s policies and tactics hardly gained India ground in world cricket, it is surprising what this phase has done to Yuvraj as a player. Maybe the constant shuffling and experimentation that dented the confidence of Kaif and Sehwag, not to mention Irfan Pathan, the consistency that the young lad brought in his game during this period is remarkable. He actually proved correct the old age theory of “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
During Chappell’s time here, India’s only remarkable achievement in cricket is the world record of 17 successive run chases. And it won’t take rocket science to name the man responsible for it. Yuvraj Singh was always at the centre of India’s successful run chases with a whopping average of 83, while a new team mate in this duration, Mahendra Singh Dhoni ably supported him in a number of matches. Even when India batted first and won the match, Yuvraj now averaged more than 50, a lot better than his previous efforts. He got to bat early on in the innings many a times and always proved to be a good performer. No wonder that he was labeled a fearsome finisher by his team mates and opposition alike.
But again, it is in defeat that the consistency factor sets in. And this is where he leaves not only his contemporaries but also his senior players behind. Kaif lost his touch and place, Sehwag his form, Ganguly his captaincy & place in the side, Rahul Dravid his effectiveness and Tendulkar his fitness & panache. But Yuvraj only gained and scaled new heights. Even in the West Indies in 2006, when India lost the ODI series, Yuvraj was the lone man standing averaging 45 from 4 matches.
However when someone becomes the magnet of the team and then that magnet loses its powers, the whole team suffers. Yuvraj had pulled a hamstring in the new season and was only half fit when the run up to the World Cup began. Failures in Kuala Lumpur and the Champions Trophy back home did him or his fitness no favours and India lost all the steam ahead of the premier tournament in West Indies in South Africa, a tour that he missed due to his aggravated injury. Maybe the team had peaked too early. Maybe they weren’t just good enough. But along with his senior players, he was criticized and bore the brunt of the public backlash for the early exit from the World Cup.
Yuvraj is a fielder beyond par, someone with the second highest run-out rate on the cricket ground. He maybe a bit circumspect against spin but the booming drives and cuts to the fence, not to mention his trademark pull to the square leg fence are a treat to watch. His Test career has not taken off as well as his ODI stint. Probably because of the clutter in the middle order, where he is looked down when compared to Ganguly and Laxman. But his few appearances in the longer version of the game have put it beyond doubt that he is the first in-line replacement for the ageing Test stars.
The recent series against South Africa has done him a world of good as also to the team. The resilience he first showed in Bangladesh when not timing the ball properly has finally paid off. But he has to understand that this is only the beginning of a long redemption process which the team has undertaken and it will only be good for the team if he maintains this run. Not to mention that the consistency levels bring in the baggage of captaincy rumours, but his backlash against Chappell after the World Cup put paid to that story. Atleast for the time being, as new ODI vice-captain Dhoni has a huge role to play but there is no doubt that the wicketkeeper batsman’s stint would determine who would be India’s next captain.
After India beat South Africa in the Future Cup in Ireland, to clinch their first overseas victory over their opponents, Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged the Man of the Series. However he pulled up Yuvraj along with him to the podium and declared him “joint winner”. The gesture left the spectators spell bound and the team applauding. Because in deeper meaning, even the master blaster knew, the baton of “Mr. Dependable” had changed hands, again.
