Does Yuvi Deserve a Spot In The Champions Trophy Squad?

‘Yuvraj Singh’ the name itself tells you a lot of stories. Stories of triumph, of fighting cancer, of humungous sixes and many more. Over the years Yuvraj has stated his dominance and evolved as a true match winner for India. Every time there is a squad selection, his name is almost always discussed, irrespective of his form. This definitely speaks volumes of class and the impact of his on field presence. But ever since he has recovered from cancer, Yuvraj hasn’t been the same. His form has blown hot and cold, there has been difficulty in tackling good bowling attacks. Though one can argue that he has shown glimpses of his old self, but does this justify his selection in the Champions Trophy squad? Or there’s more to this tale? Let’s analyse.

Before we critically analyse his selection there is one thing that needs to be clearly stated; Champions Trophy will be played during the English summer. The climate will assist the seamers , non then less there might be a little bit for the spinners. The point being that Yuvraj might be a handy part time bowling option in the sub continental conditions but he will possibly not be very effective in England and therefore we need to look at him as a batsman only.

The selection of the current Indian squad made it look evident that IPL performances weren’t considered for selection and the selection panel strongly believes in differentiating T20 from the One day format of the game.

So let us have a look at some recent numbers, in the 2016-2017 Ranji Trophy season Yuvraj has amassed 672 runs in 8 innings (5 matches) at an average of 84.00 and strike rate of 64.64. The southpaw also scored a career best 260 this season. Add to this Yuvraj’s performance during India’s three match ODI series against England where the swashbuckling batsman scored 15, 150 and 45 in the three matches and was the third highest run getter in the series. While his Ranji numbers are decent and those along with his recent ODI exploits are indicative of Yuvraj’s rhythm one cannot deny that there are some other established names as well as young guns who have had a better domestic season and are in top form in the IPL too. Yes IPL performances may not be indicative of one’s ability to play well in One-day games but they surely give you an idea of one’s form.

But who could have taken Yuvraj’s position? And if they are in good touch what could the possible reason be for their snub? Well since we are aware of the fact that the selection panel has selected five reserve players beyond the squad for possible injuries, we can safely assume that these were strong contenders who missed their chance of representing India marginally. Going by this there seem to be only two serious contenders Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik. While Pant has had an exceptional Ranji season scoring 972 runs in 12 innings (8 matches) at an average of 81.00 and has a strike rate of 107.28, Karthik too isn’t far behind with 704 runs at an average of 54.15 in his kitty.

While these too are in good form and have good scores to back their case two factors possibly make you choose Yuvraj over them. The big league is set to take place in England, conditions being drastically different from the Sub continent, and Champions Trophy being a short tournament Batsmen need to adapt to the new conditions quickly, thus including an experienced campaigner like Yuvi who has been exposed to these conditions over young Pant is a safe call. Dinesh Karthik does have experience but with India looking to defend the title experimentation with the line up is possibly not preferred, history too favours Yuvraj to be better performer in such high profile tournaments over Karthik, and hence Karthik loses out.

While his selection can be reasoned with the above, not to forget his on-field impact along with some extraordinary fielding.