I talked about rescue innings and I am sure Yuvi has played more than Jadeja has. Juz remember Yuvi's 84 Vs Aus, 98 Vs Sri Lanka, the Natwest match, the 139 Vs Australia etc.
Maybe one or two more, but that hardly matters. Look at how many times Yuvraj is dismissed for scores of under 30. That is why he has such a low average, and all along, he's far behind Jadeja in centuries.
Jadeja was at his best when he would first build a partnership slowly, then start running hard, then at the later stages, hit the big shots. One just needs to remember his assault on the Pakistani bowling in Bangalore, then against the South Africans in Mumbai (which I had seen from the North Stand) and one in South Africa, though it was against Zimbabwe. He could build innings-saving and often match-winning partnerships.
Moreover, in more than half the finals in which he has appeared, the team has won, and more finals when he has got off to a start.
In comparison, Yuvraj Singh has just tried to be too much of a flashy individual. If you watch him in action, you will notice he just tries to hit the ball without getting bat on it. As a result, the ball doesn't fall on the middle of the bat and he gets out caught very often.
His success in his debut match was just a one-off, as he struggled for a very long time, till that innings in SL. That, again, was a one-off, till his return to the team and return to form against Zimbabwe. Even in England, where he batted well, he took on the weaker elements of a very average attack- he has now struggled against a much stronger attack, with Flintoff and Harmison in good form. That 139 against AUS was on a flat pitch and whatever he did, was done better by the Australians.
My problem with him is that, even without the match fixing cloud, he cannot replace the guys in the main side.
He can replace Ganguly, who has done nothing exceptionally good these days to stay in the side (he has always been more of an entertainer), and is a liability on the field, which can always prove costly in ODI's. He can replace the highly inconsistent Yuvraj, who also struggles against spin- that should keep him out of any Indian batting lineup. He can be a capable reserve batsman for replacing anyone injured or out of form.
That said, Laxman is a class player and even the ODI side is incomplete without him. He has been playing active ODI cricket for just as long as the ODI regulars and has outperformed all of them- he has scored 6 centuries, while collectively, Yuvraj, Kaif, Badani and Mongia just have 5.
