SOMEONE HAS HIDDEN YUVI'S GIFT: PART 2

(contd...)

2. Each member in the team is chosen for a specific purpose... everyone's got a job profile. Yuvraj's numbers may be better than those of Ravindra Jadeja's for this period... but his role is different than that of Jadeja. His numbers are expected to be comparable with the likes of SRT or Viru... not Jadeja!

... and The Grumbler!

He is expected to be a middle order match winner, a handy left arm spinner and an athletic fielder. Since some of those skills are on decline, he needed a break to find a solution away from the pressure of an international match for India... away from the constant media glare!

3. Yuvi's attitude needs a bit of mending. I don't care as to what he gets on with off the field... but its his attitude on it that worries me! We have started witnessing uncharacteristic misfields because he was too slow to bend down. We have started witnessing fumbles because the eyes were not on the ball. The dives have disappeared... and when they do come out, they are ugly and ineffective. There is no desire to chase down a ball. The grumbling on the field has increased. He has been demoted from point to mid off... and despite the relatively simpler profile, the work was still not satisfactory.

All these, to me, are signs of a person who is not being able to enjoy the game... especially the grumbling and frowning. There may be a lack of motivation. And if that is the case, it needs to be rediscovered... and soon! Motivation will not be helped if he is forced to play more and more matches in a packed schedule. Maybe a break from cricket will help him rediscover the enthusiasm...

Yuvraj needs to quickly rediscover his past form... because if he does do that, and if Sachin and Viru keep fit and firing, India can be an unstoppable force on home pitches for the World Cup in 2011. Hope this break will help Yuvraj realise once again that it is a privelege to wear the India cap!