People had started questioning his ability to win India matches. So much so that his spot in the side was also under the scanner. Questions were asked if Yuvraj Singh should be replaced by Suresh Raina in the lower middle order. I am sure it hurt. It should. From being India's best one day player and one who was instrumental in winning India the T-20 world cup to almost being discarded, Yuvraj Singh had seen it all.
He had seen the high and witnessed the pain. Perhaps more than some of his contemporaries. Questions were asked of his lifestyle, his sense of responsibility, his mental state, fitness and finally discipline. Many even suggested that he is a spent force and one who is past his prime. But as with real champions, Yuvraj too made the biggest stage his own. Three back to back fifties, two consecutive man of the match awards, the first player ever to pick up five wickets and score a half century and suddenly making himself India's best part time go to bowler, Yuvraj has already made the world cup his own.
What stands out for me in the Yuvraj on view in this tournament is his determination to finish off games. At 99-4 against Ireland, India was just about to press the panic button when Yuvraj steadied the ship with his skipper. An encore happened against the Dutch in Delhi. On both occasions he stayed there till the end, calm and composed, determined and focused, to finish the game and ensure India was the first team to seal a quarter final berth. This is a mature Yuvraj Singh on view, one who understands his responsibility and continues to be a game changer for his country. It is a Yuvraj Singh we have only seen in patches but have craved for all this while and what better stage than the world cup than to stand up and get counted.
Yes India has perhaps not played to potential so far in the world cup. Yes the tournament is just about to reach its business end and the tougher matches are now all at hand. One slip and the dream of winning the world cup after 28 long years will be over. Yes there are plenty of questions to be asked of the Indian bowling. But none of this takes away from the fact that Yuvraj is making the dependable tag his own. He is no longer a swash buckling bundle of talent who could not be invested upon. Rather he is the blue chip share whose value remains constant more often than not even at moments of recession.
Many maverick champions in the past have decided to show their talent at the biggest stage of all. From Paolo Rossi to Jimmy Conors to Goran Ivanisevic, the list of these champions can go on and on. None of them have the discipline to become a Maradona or a Tendulkar but each of them on their day can take the best of the best apart for in terms of talent they are right up there in the highest echelons of sporting greats. Yuvraj is one such. Bending down on one knee, eyes right on top of the ball as that high backlift comes down on it, Yuvraj can certainly make CLR James' description of sport as art. It is art of the highest caliber, shots that remain etched in people's memories for a long long time.
Yes he will never be able to repeat his feat of hitting six sixes in an over. Perhaps he can never score a 27 ball 70 against Australia in a T-20 encounter. But what the new Yuvraj on view can surely do is win India games and regularly so. He is the new age Bevan who is flamboyant yet responsible, focused yet charismatic. This is Yuvraj we have been searching for. We have just seen glimpses of it in the two back to back man of the match awards. Perhaps it is time to see it far more regularly as the tournament reaches a climax.
To quote his mother, "Give him the responsibility and see what he does. I am confident he will do it for the country." He has already proved her right on two occasions. Time he fulfills the dreams of a billion plus now in the next two weeks. So much so that in Indian cricket history a new chapter be added: 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup: The legacy of Yuvraj Singh.
He had seen the high and witnessed the pain. Perhaps more than some of his contemporaries. Questions were asked of his lifestyle, his sense of responsibility, his mental state, fitness and finally discipline. Many even suggested that he is a spent force and one who is past his prime. But as with real champions, Yuvraj too made the biggest stage his own. Three back to back fifties, two consecutive man of the match awards, the first player ever to pick up five wickets and score a half century and suddenly making himself India's best part time go to bowler, Yuvraj has already made the world cup his own.
What stands out for me in the Yuvraj on view in this tournament is his determination to finish off games. At 99-4 against Ireland, India was just about to press the panic button when Yuvraj steadied the ship with his skipper. An encore happened against the Dutch in Delhi. On both occasions he stayed there till the end, calm and composed, determined and focused, to finish the game and ensure India was the first team to seal a quarter final berth. This is a mature Yuvraj Singh on view, one who understands his responsibility and continues to be a game changer for his country. It is a Yuvraj Singh we have only seen in patches but have craved for all this while and what better stage than the world cup than to stand up and get counted.
Yes India has perhaps not played to potential so far in the world cup. Yes the tournament is just about to reach its business end and the tougher matches are now all at hand. One slip and the dream of winning the world cup after 28 long years will be over. Yes there are plenty of questions to be asked of the Indian bowling. But none of this takes away from the fact that Yuvraj is making the dependable tag his own. He is no longer a swash buckling bundle of talent who could not be invested upon. Rather he is the blue chip share whose value remains constant more often than not even at moments of recession.
Many maverick champions in the past have decided to show their talent at the biggest stage of all. From Paolo Rossi to Jimmy Conors to Goran Ivanisevic, the list of these champions can go on and on. None of them have the discipline to become a Maradona or a Tendulkar but each of them on their day can take the best of the best apart for in terms of talent they are right up there in the highest echelons of sporting greats. Yuvraj is one such. Bending down on one knee, eyes right on top of the ball as that high backlift comes down on it, Yuvraj can certainly make CLR James' description of sport as art. It is art of the highest caliber, shots that remain etched in people's memories for a long long time.
Yes he will never be able to repeat his feat of hitting six sixes in an over. Perhaps he can never score a 27 ball 70 against Australia in a T-20 encounter. But what the new Yuvraj on view can surely do is win India games and regularly so. He is the new age Bevan who is flamboyant yet responsible, focused yet charismatic. This is Yuvraj we have been searching for. We have just seen glimpses of it in the two back to back man of the match awards. Perhaps it is time to see it far more regularly as the tournament reaches a climax.
To quote his mother, "Give him the responsibility and see what he does. I am confident he will do it for the country." He has already proved her right on two occasions. Time he fulfills the dreams of a billion plus now in the next two weeks. So much so that in Indian cricket history a new chapter be added: 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup: The legacy of Yuvraj Singh.
