In latest comeback bid,question remains: Yuvraj Singh can,but will he?

That he was one of the finest short-format cricketers of this generation was not in doubt. Also read: Selection of seniors in India A is a show of both intent,faith But there he was now,exactly a year since his finest hour had unraveled at the Wankhede,sitting in the presence of a hundred-odd journalists — men and women who had for long tried to work out just why Yuvraj was a white-flannel failure. Also read: All eyes on Yuvraj Singh as India A take on West Indies A

“After this (the battle with cancer) I will not spend sleepless nights worrying about kya karna hai,kya nahi karna hai,you know,” he said. “I know I will be a lot more relaxed in my approach from here on. One step at a time.” Also read: Injured Praveen Kumar,Irfan Pathan ruled of India A series against West Indies

Yuvraj got his chance soon enough,when he was selected in the Test squad for England’s tour of India in late November.

But that’s where the fairytale ended. The great puzzle of his Test career remained unsolved,and he lost his place midway through the series. After a string of scores reading 2,9,23,61,32,30,3 and 0 in the ODIs that followed,he was out of India blues too.

With that,it looked all but over. From the drop zone,a place he was joined in by every esteemed compatriot of his era bar Sachin Tendulkar,Yuvraj watched kids 10 years younger sealing their Test and one-day slots. India had moved on from the who’s who of the World Cup winning side with ease. It was also said that the head coach had pleaded with the selectors to move on from the Sehwags,Gambhirs,Zaheers and Yuvrajs of the world.

The selectors,over the months that followed,seemed to be following that maxim. Until,on the eve of a new season,they dangled a lifeline at all of them by picking them in the India A squad. Yuvraj,unlike the other three,won’t get a chance in the four-day games against West Indies A. But he will lead the one-day squad over three games over the course of the week,starting Sunday. While there was a touch of romance to his previous comeback,this one — if it indeed morphs into an India return — looks like a purely pragmatic move by the selectors.

While India’s ODI team has tasted only success since Yuvraj’s axing — winning the Champions Trophy,a tri-series in the West Indies and a bilateral series in Zimbabwe — the middle order isn’t yet set in stone. Suresh Raina has scored just one half-century in 12 innings. Dinesh Karthik,who has also batted 12 times in that period,has averaged 31.88 and scored at a strike rate of 70.44. Neither has shut the door on Yuvraj.

And in his time out of the team,Yuvraj went and worked on the one aspect of his game that seemed to have diminished visibly,if understandably,since his return from illness,by spending six weeks at a rigorous fitness camp in France. The selectors must have taken note of that as well.

“I have never seen him so fit or so eager,” says India A coach Lalchand Rajput. “He has worked very hard to improve his fitness. Now he is much more motivated and focussed. The results,I am sure,will show on the field.” That remains to be seen,but once again,Yuvraj has the chance to say that he belongs.

Praveen,Irfan out

Bangalore: Pacers Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan were today ruled out of India A team’s unofficial ODI series against the visiting West Indies A side which begins on Saturday due to injuries. Siddharth Kaul and R Vinay Kumar have been drafted in the team in place of them,the BCCI said.