After more than 10 years at the international level, Yuvraj Singh has almost seen it all. He might be in the form of his life in the on- going World Cup — having aggregated 341 runs in seven matches and 13 wickets in the bag — but Yuvraj isn’t ready to let the adulation get to his head.
While others have made him the toast of the nation, the claims of under- performance levied against him in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is etched in his memory.
Yuvraj was accused of underperforming after Kumar Sangakkara’s elevation to the captaincy of the Kings XI Punjab team and that apparently spurred him. His effort to throw light on his career- threatening knee and wrist injury was seen as a mere excuse.
But now that he is back with a vengeance, having claimed as many as four man- of- the- match awards in the showpiece event, his critics have definitely been shut.
Considered immensely talented yet inconsistent in his initial days at the toplevel, he was dropped from the squad in October 2001, before the then skipper Sourav Ganguly made it clear that his place was in the team and brought him back in the squad in March 2002. The last year was definitely the ultimate low in his otherwise illustrious ODI career.
“ The allegations of under- performance definitely hurt me. I have given my 100 per cent every time I have taken the cricket field and those claims were as bad as accusing me of match- fixing. Sadly I had just started recuperating from my wrist injury and although I couldn’t even hit the ball properly in the first few matches of the IPL, no one bothered to take my word,” he said.
The fact that he has already scored 432 runs in 12 ODI matches in the 2011 season as compared to the 349 runs he scored from 15 matches in 2010 shows that the knee and wrist injury actually took a toll on him.
He has claimed 18 wickets in 94 overs that he has bowled in the 2011 season so far and that only adds to the fact that he has turned out to be a match- winner with both bat and ball in 2011 after a sedate 2010.
He is back at his favourite position — backward point — a spot he made his own since his debut in 2000 before moving to mid- off in the previous season and that shows the left- hander is close to full fitness.
“ The decision to move from my favourite point position was taken by me as I felt the injuries decreased my agility and point is an important position. I had been asked not to run by the doctor and although I agree I had put on a bit of weight, it’s not that I put on 10 kgs,” he said.
Former India player Chetan Chauhan feels Yuvraj has been a revelation in the World Cup after a rather subdued 2010. “ He always had class, but multiple injuries didn’t help his cause much. But the maturity he has shown both with bat and ball in the showpiece event is worth applauding,” Chauhan said.
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