To Yuvi or not to Yuvi

Thus amid a roar of gratitude, with a roll of his arm and a swish of the blade, began Yuvraj Singh‘s second innings. He was back on the field as if nothing had ever happened, belittling his battle with cancer. Unfortunately, a lot has happened. Staving off any disease is draining let alone cancer, and his bout with chemotherapy has taken a toll on his body.

As far as his game goes, Yuvraj bowled 2 overs for 14 and scored 34 off 26 balls against NZ, indicating he hasn’t lost his mojo. There never was any doubt that he was a match winner. His comeback inning proved that he still is. Fitness-wise, Yuvi is still not quite there but it’s only a matter of time before he starts diving around the place saving runs. But the question that befuddles his selection is when. When will Yuvraj Singh regain full fitness and form? Only time has the answer to that and perhaps his physio and Yuvraj himself, to a certain extent.

The BCCI has fast-tracked his comeback by selecting him for the World T20. While the heart agrees with this selection, the head does not. This selection seems like the answer to a billion people’s prayers rather than a selection based on sound judgement. Of course when fit, Yuvraj is an automatic selection in the ODI setup. In this case however, he is coming off of a break of one year. Without any match practice or performance under his belt he was selected in the World T20 squad. This calls into question the selection procedure or criteria of the BCCI.

Zaheer Khan was called up for India’s tour to England in 2011 without a proper fitness Test. That story ended with BCCI searching for a place to bury its head. Another gaffe like that will only highlight their mismanagement of players. There seems to be a school of thought that Yuvraj’s return is premature. Taking him to Sri Lanka without proper match practice and an assessment of his fitness is based on the hope that the fighter in him will rise to the occasion.

To the guy next in line for that spot it says, even on the slightest chance that Yuvraj might be fit in time you will be left out because even a half-fit Yuvi is better than you. While this might be true of some players (read Rohit Sharma in current form) , saying this out blatantly doesn’t do a whole lot of good for the reserve players’ confidence.

The joy of Yuvraj’s return is evident among every Indian as he overshadowed Virat Kohli‘s brilliant innings against NZ like an eclipse and it’s been a long time since Kohli hasn’t been in the limelight. He is India’s best batsman at the current moment and will have to play a huge role in Sri Lanka if India is to win. The other guy who can match him is Yuvraj and the whole of India will be hoping he does well. The whole of India will be praying he stays fit. If he does perform well, cricket will benefit; for there is none better at timing the ball sweetly than him.

Mums always advice one to follow the heart. Let’s hope this decision stemming from 1.2 billion hearts and more is the right one.