It seems that India is looking to go into the World Cup 2015 without Yuvraj Singh.
The Punjab lad hasn’t been a part of the Indian side that is currently playing a 5-match series against England.
It’s Ajinkya Rahane who is batting at no. 4 for India in that series in Yuvraj’s absence.
The Indian captain MS Dhoni has hinted in quite a few of his interviews of late that he considers Rahane a very suitable player for that crucial second down position especially on seaming pitches.
A large section of the Indian fans though still believe that Yuvraj is a better ODI player than Rahane and should be brought back into the team, but, certainly, the Indian think tank is not on the same page.
However, to be fair to Dhoni and the Indian selectors, they gave Yuvraj a long run in the One Day Internationals last season, but, he underperformed which led to his axing.
Yuvraj could have made a case for his comeback if he had batted brilliantly in the World T20 Championship as Raina did, but, he was unable to do that. He, in fact, played pathetic cricket in the final of that tournament scoring just 11 runs off 21 balls.
So, Yuvraj’s own form has been responsible for him not being in the mix at the moment, but, the left hander is a big player and the big players often shine at big stages.
Yuvraj was not playing great cricket ahead of the last World Cup either, but, Dhoni showed confidence in him at that time and he won India the tournament.
That might happen next year as well only if Dhoni is ready to back Yuvraj again which seems highly unlikely considering the Indian captain’s recent policy of persisting with young players.