vamos_rafa Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 GURGAON: India's middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh reckons that his best years as a cricketer is "yet to come" and he will now strive to revive his Test career. Yuvraj is not a regular member of Test squad and lost his place in the side after the series in Sri Lanka last year, but the elegant left-hander said he wants to be remembered as a good Test cricketer after retirement. "It's the right time to focus on my Test career. I want to be remembered as a good batsman in the longer format of the game. I have always tried to give my best shot whenever on the field but unfortunately injury issues were there", Yuvraj said on Monday. "In the upcoming series against the West Indies and Australia, :wall: I want to score big and make a mark in the Test format. I want to restructure my Test career and I'll raise the bar this time," he said. Yuvraj said he has matured as a player after going through various ups and downs in his career, marred by injury or fitness concerns. "My best years are yet to come. After a long injury layoff, I am fully fit and raring to go. My career has been marred by a lot of injury issues but I think it's on the right path now. My best is yet to come as lot of cricket is still left in me," he said. "After coming back from England, I worked hard towards my training. My body took a lot of toll in the past one year due to injury issues. There are no more injuries and I am looking forward to make a mark through the upcoming West Indies series. I want to do good in the series and serve the Indian cricket for long," he said. Yuvraj was declared Player of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup for his all-round performance, which played an instrumental role in India winning the coveted trophy after a hiatus of 28 years. After playing in the IPL for the Pune Warriors, Yuvraj was ruled out of the West Indies tour in June-July as he suffered from a lung infection. The 30-year-old all-rounder suffered a fracture on his left index finger on the fourth day of the second Test against England after being hit on his gloves by a short-pitched delivery from Tim Bresnan. The injury ruled out Yuvraj for the remainder of the England series as he had been advised at least four weeks rest. Yuvraj failed to recover on time for the return series against England and was left out of the five-match ODI series and lone Twenty20. "My consistency has remained a problem as injury issues affected me in the last two years. I will try to maintain the consistency as I am giving more importance to my fitness," he said. Asked whether he will restrict himself to any one format, Yuvraj said, "I am just 30 and still have cricket left in me. I am not 37-38. I will focus on all three formats of the game. May be couple of years later, I will think of playing one format," he said. Talking about the thrashing India received on the tour of England, Yuvraj said, "In England, we struggled and in India, they struggled. It was tough to watch India losing in England. I want to be there with my team." Yuvraj said it won't take long for axed off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to impress the selectors and make a comeback. "I always feel Harbhajan's absence in the team. He is a fighter and I am sure he will soon fight his way back into the team."
ganeshran Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Though Yuvi's passion for test cricket is admirable, from what we have seen in his performances so far - he isnt really suited for the format like he is for LOIs
Ram Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 its pretty revealing that Yuvraj Singh, who made his international debut 1999, is still hoping today to establish himself as a test batsmen, when we are ready to welcome 2012. If that doesnt tell you all you need to know about test credentials, nothing will.
Andrew Peter Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Maybe in his next birth perhaps if this isnt the 7th one.
Trichromatic Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 He has been playing test cricket for over 8 years and hadn't established himself in the side yet. I don't think many players have made a strong comeback from such situation.
Karan114 Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Great, let's give him another 35 Tests to do so.
saneindian Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Why wirte him off? He did show in England on a tough pitch against a quality attack that he can bat when the ball moves both ways. His tour ended due to a freak injury but given what he achieved in the WC after being written off 6 months ago, don't put it past him to do well in tests too if he is willing to work hard and show the same level of maturity he showed during the WC. In fact, I am praying he starts doing well in tests. We can't afford to have 4 rookies in the middle order at the same time once the big guns retire. Yuvi doing well in tests would mean us remaining competitive even when the 3 big names move out.
Ram Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Why wirte him off? He did show in England on a tough pitch against a quality attack that he can bat when the ball moves both ways. His tour ended due to a freak injury but given what he achieved in the WC after being written off 6 months ago, don't put it past him to do well in tests too if he is willing to work hard and show the same level of maturity he showed during the WC. In fact, I am praying he starts doing well in tests. We can't afford to have 4 rookies in the middle order at the same time once the big guns retire. Yuvi doing well in tests would mean us remaining competitive even when the 3 big names move out. I disagree with you in the sense that our middle-order situation is not as dire as you may think it is. With Rahane and Mukund already showing a lot of promise, it is pretty clear either one of or even both Sehwag and Gambhir will probably move to the middle order. Then there's Pujara, who would have for all practical purposes been our middle order bat for the Windies and England tour but for the freak injury. Rohit Sharma has nearly has 5 years of international cricket and 100 + ODIs under his belt already and in my opinion, set to take on bigger challenges. Virat Kohli's test prospects can only go one way from here UP. And Suresh Raina has already shown in England, Sri Lanka and West Indies that he's a gritty middle order bat who cannot be discounted. I agree that Yuvraj has been a little unlucky with injuries recently. Having said that, after watching play test cricket for 8+ years, its impossible for anyone with a clear conscience to look at him and think he's our solution for the middle order. Yes, he is certainly capable of playing a really good test inning (like he has shown numerous times previously), but I think its time for us to invest seriously on the future of middle order batting, rather than resort to patch-work solutions that have at best, given sporadic results.
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