Yuvraj front runner for taking up Ganguly's Test spot

S S Ramaswamy

Rajkot, Nov 15 (PTI) After blowing England away with his
hurricane hitting despite a bad back, Yuvraj Singh has bounced
back strongly into contention as the man most likely to take
over the spot left vacant by the retirement of Sourav Ganguly
in the Indian Test middle-order.

Yuvraj came into the first of seven O.D.I.s here Friday
with his confidence a bit low, as he admitted at the
post-match media conference, following his lean stretch in
domestic cricket.

"I was a bit nervous as I had not scored many runs over
the last few weeks. But the blazing start provided by Viru and
Gambhir allowed me to play quietly in the beginning. The fact
that Suresh Raina was playing shots at the other end also
eased the pressure on me.

"It gave me time to settle down and in getting to know
what the wicket was about," he said.

"I did not go into the match today with the intention of
proving anything to anyone other than myself. I wanted to
prove to myself that I was good enough to play at this
level," he declared after admitting that he was disappointed
for being ignored for the Test team against Australia.

By the time he finished the game in India's favour with
an incredible, unbeaten 138, not many doubts would have
remained in the minds of the vast majority of Indian fans that
he's the front runner to take up Ganguly's slot.

Taking full advantage of the electric start given by
Sehwag and Gambhir, who put on a century stand at six an over,
the Punjab left-hander simply plundered the strong England
pace attack and cut it to shreds with six sixes and 16 fours.

England skipper Kevin Pietersen admitted after the match
that Yuvraj's batting was fabulous.

"Yuvraj played an absolutely fantastic innings. He hit
even good balls for sixes," Pietersen said after tasting
defeat for the first time as the England captain since taking
over the reins in the last English summer from the out-of-form
Michael Vaughan.

Former national selector Anshuman Gaekwad says if he was
on the current panel, Yuvraj would be his first choice to fill
in the slot vacated by Ganguly.

"Definitely, I would choose him ahead of all other
claimants. He is the man best suited for the job. His
left-handedness is also an advantage as he will replace
another left-hander in the line-up," the 56-year-old former
India opener told PTI Saturday.

Gaekwad, who played 40 Tests between 1975 and 1984, also
said the 26-year-old player has already proved his worth at
the Test level, besides other internationals, while other
contenders like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and S. Badrinath
will have to wait for their turns.

"One has to appreciate the way he played yesterday. He
has also proved himself in the Test and O.D.I.s. Others have
to prove themselves and have not done as much as Yurvaj has.
He is way ahead," the former India coach emphasised.

Yuvraj's Test career has seen a lot of ups and downs and
his recent one-day record also resembles a yo-yo. After being
one of the star performers in the Twenty20 World Cup in South
Africa, he scored a Test century against Pakistan in
Bangalore, his third ton and all against India's arch-rivals.

But the stylish batsman went off the boil on India's tour
of Australia and lost his Test spot.

He was moderately successful in the only other chance he
got later -- against South Africa in the third and last Test
in Kanpur in April -- but was not given a look-in against
Australia in any of the recent four Tests.

Yuvraj was totally ignored despite hitting a blazing
hundred against Ricky Ponting's men in the four-day warm-up
game at Hyderabad prior to the series for the Border-Gavaskar
Trophy.

He has played only 23 Tests since making his debut
against New Zealand at his home ground in Mohali five years
ago, an indication not only of his inconsistency but also the
difficulty to break into the steely middle order thus far
comprising the 'Fab Four'.

Yuvraj has had a modest run at Test level to date, having
accumulated just over a thousand runs at a little above 32
per innings average.

He has simply not justified his own potential thus far in
the longer version of the game. The retirement of Ganguly has
now thrown up a new opportunity to Yuvraj to cement his place,
if selected, as the graceful Bengal stalwart's long-term
replacement.

The selectors will have to take the call on Yuvraj when
announcing the team for the first of two Tests against
England commencing in Ahmedabad on December 11.

Prior to that he has a chance to impress them further in
the remaining six one-day internationals against England ahead
of the Test rubber.