We will miss Yuvraj in Asia Cup: Dhoni

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India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that they will miss the services of left-hand batsman Yuvraj Singh in the forthcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and hoped the southpaw would return to the national side soon. More... We will miss Yuvraj in Asia Cup: Dhoni Yahoonews, PTI, 12 June 2010 Chennai: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that they will miss the services of left-hand batsman Yuvraj Singh in the forthcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and hoped the southpaw would return to the national side soon. Yuvraj, who has been struggling with his form, was dropped from the Sri Lanka-bound national side and Dhoni has no qualm to admit that the youngsters of the team have to handle the extra responsibility to fill the void in the middle order. "Of course we will miss him. If you see his performance in the last couple of years, he has been one of our main strength at the middle order. The way he can bat, hardly any batsman can do in that manner," Dhoni said at a press conference. "Definitely we will miss him, but at the same time it will be really great if some of the youngsters could fill in the space. But hopefully we will not miss him on the field," he added. Fitness has been a problem with Yuvraj, who seemed to have gained weight of late and was seen fielding in the deep and not in his customary point position. However, Dhoni has no doubt that the Punjab cricketer will soon make his way back to the India team. "But the kind of talent Yuvraj is, I don't think it will be difficult for him to come back. I am hoping that he will be back as soon as possible. I am a big fan of Yuvraj and it is a pleasure to have him in the side. He is one of the best batsmen in the world," Dhoni said. "Especially the way he bats in first and second powerplay situations has been remarkable. He is sort of a batsman who can be really cashed on as he can play in the both ways ? aggressive as well as defensive," Dhoni added. Not true Dhoni denied coach Gary Kirsten had singled out a few players for criticism in a team meeting after the debacle in the World Twenty20 in the West Indies. “There are some stories that go around but we are not bothered by them. There is a lot of media speculation. I can tell you that there was no attempt to pull down any cricketer after our campaign in the West Indies. All that happened was that we had individual meetings with the members of the team which is a standard procedure after every series. There was nothing unusual about it,” he said. The skipper said that they are yet to plan anything for the four-nation competition and will set their strategy only after arriving in the island nation. "It is very difficult to say anything till you see the condition available there. It is not easy to predict playing combination of the side. We have couple of practice sessions and we will also see how the wicket is. We will plan according to the conditions," he said while asked about the probable strategy in the tournament. "Its an important tournament. We will be playing one-day cricket after a long time. We will be playing in Dambulla. We are playing with almost the full strength but the condition in Dambulla will be different because it is not a high scoring venue. It will be very important to keep that on the back of the mind. But we are not playing there for the first time," Dhoni said. Asked about the condition of the team's fast bowling department, Dhoni said, "We really don't have a fast bowling all-rounder for the last couple of years. We don't have fast bowlers who could bowl 10 overs and then contribute with the bat." "Fast bowling, especially in the sub-continent, is a difficult job. We have quite a few fast bowlers but they have not done really well. The more exposure they get will be better for them. You get quite placid wickets here when it comes to the ODIs. Most of the wickets now a days, you can say, favour the batsmen. There is no extra pace on the wickets and it becomes difficult to push batsmen on the back foot." Speaking on their ICC World Twenty20 campaign in the West Indies, Dhoni said, "We didn't really do well in the ICC World Twenty20. Media speculations going around are more than what the stats suggests. We are not too much bothered about what goes around. "We had personal chats with the players. Gary (Kirsten) had individual discussions with the players. There were more individual sessions and it was not to bring anybody down. It is a normal procedure that we generally follow. It was nothing more than that." "We know it is one of the most appreciated sports in India. We do get plenty of appreciation and at times plenty of criticism as well. We would like to be in the middle path and try to do well. It is in our hands and we are doing our best," he added. Asked about the forthcoming 50-over ICC Cricket World Cup next year, which will be held in the sub-continent, Dhoni admitted that they will carry some extra pressure in front of the home crowd in the showpiece event. "Once we get closure to the World Cup I don't want to see many changes in the side. We would like give the side more exposure and help them get more used to the conditions. It is important to have players who have played more than 100 one-dayers. There will be pressure when it comes to World Cup because it is held in India," Dhoni said. "This is the time that you can afford to bring about few changes as you get closure to the World Cup. But we don't want to do too many changes in the side. But in case we are forced to drop someone due to injury, we have to bring in change," he added. India open their campaign in the tournament by taking on Bangladesh on June 16 in Dambulla.

[kooljatt]

:icflove: awwwwwwww...dnt worry Dhoni boy, i knw what ur heart is saying

[kooljatt]

i miss these times :(( [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um8srMc7Xt0]YouTube- Yuvraj & Dhoni Kills Pak[/ame]

[diegovegaz]

for the T20 wc, he blamed the ipl parties and travelling so, i'm sure this will be his 'reason' for our asia cup debacle

[Rajiv]

Sometimes, it portrays a bad message that a team w/o yuv would not be very good, don't get me wrong I want yuvraj in every damn game coz odds are he will smash it when the time comes but when some things are not in ur control simply move on and show confidence in those who are with u. Regardless, if this team plays to its potential, we can walk through the other teams, but u need to inject the confidence and I don't think such statements help at all especially before a series

[vvvslaxman]

I think this was more an effort to make him realize that he cannot take his place for granted than anything else. Deep down every Indian fan wants him to do well as he is one of the greatest one day finisher Indian ODI team has ever produced. Hope he gets his act together before world cup.

[Rajiv]

Well, I guess he got message when he wasn't picked, what is this then...a reminder

[Bumblebee]

i miss these times :((

some good old memories:two_thumbs_up:

[kooljatt]

Sometimes' date=' it portrays a bad message that a team w/o yuv would not be very good, don't get me wrong I want yuvraj in every damn game coz odds are he will smash it when the time comes but when some things are not in ur control simply move on and show confidence in those who are with u. Regardless, if this team plays to its potential, we can walk through the other teams, but u need to inject the confidence and I don't think such statements help at all especially before a series[/quote'] i know wat u mean...especially for someone like Tiwary. it would put huge pressure on him

[Temujin Khaghan]

i know wat u mean...especially for someone like Tiwary. it would put huge pressure on him

how will tiwary get a game? the batting order is completely filled up. atleast if you want to replace him with jadeja, there is no yuvi as half decent 5th bowling option. maybe someone needs to be injured for him to play. tiwary is just coming to be a part of the experience thatsall. i wish he came to either zim tour or the A-tour to england.

[Lord]

dunno wats the need to say this?all he is doing is bigging Yuvraj up n making that seem that he is in indispensible.rather he should supprt the selection n back his Young guns

[Karan114]

I think this was more an effort to make him realize that he cannot take his place for granted than anything else. Deep down every Indian fan wants him to do well as he is one of the greatest one day finisher Indian ODI team has ever produced. Hope he gets his act together before world cup.

+

[bhajji]

Dhoni demands for Yuvraj Singh into the team Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has clearly demanded for Yuvraj Singh, another fantastic player for the team. Dhoni wants him to turn back to his earliest. In a public interview Mahendra Singh Dhoni before heading to Srilanka for the Asia cup praised Yuvraj Singh by commenting – “I am a fan of Yuvraj. He is a tremendous batsman and a match-winner. Hopefully, we will not miss him in Sri Lanka. Dhoni said – I know there is couple of gossips and rumors but yet we are not bothered for all those silly chitchats. It’s all a media speculation. Source - http://mahindrasinghdhoni.wordpress.com/

[Thommo]

I guess Dhoni was replying to specific query from the media..Imagine if somebody asks him if he will be missing Yuvi on the tour, Im sure he would never say no. "Are you still beating your wife?"..I wud have no idea how to answer this kind of a question -:) Most of the questions raised by the "quick sound byte" brigades are of this nature! The fact remains that a fit yuvi walks in the limted overs side unopposed...I was watching some of his antics on he field in WI and they were irksome to say the least..He wasnt even able to bend properly to pick the ball up. Yuvi unfortunately contributes to the limited version of extremely talented cricketers but cudnt yet realise their full potential

[Guest Gunner]

Yuvi back I don't know about y'all but I miss yuvi. We need him back. Moarrrr Punjabi powaahhhh in the team. We need yuviiiiiiii back!!!!!!!

[veer]

to kya non-punjabis team me faltu main baithe he? if he is serious about his cricket then he will be back..

[Guest Gunner]

to kya non-punjabis team me faltu main baithe he? if he is serious about his cricket then he will be back..

I want yuvi back, Punjabi powahhh is a rallying cry. What is your problem? I guess you are anti-punjabi? Hater!!!

[Mr. Wicket]

are you anti-sobriety right now? :D

[Guest Gunner]

are you anti-sobriety right now? :D

Shush!! Don't you luvz the yuvizzz?

[Ranjha]

Let him spend some time in the gym for now.. He will be back in due time.