The Test match batting of Yuvraj Singh

[Prince EWS]

I'd say his the Mark Waugh of India and will finish his career as an underacchiever.

Mark Waugh had a ridiculously good Shield record though; Yuvraj doesn't even stand out in Indian First Class domestic cricket. I think his ability to play the longer form of the game is just a little bit over-rated given the way he defends with an angled bat outside his body and plays with such hard hands all the time; I don't think he's actually underachieved as such.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah, I read that on Cricinfo two or so months ago.

Yeah but you can't pretend the quickie at the other end isn't allowed to bowl you one above hip height.

 

[duffer]

Precisely.

There's also the fact that averaging in the mid 30s with a high SR on flat pitches is of much more use in ODIs than it is in Tests. His Test average is actually pretty similar to his ODI average at the moment; it's just a more acceptable figure in ODIs and his ability to really accelerate really adds to his ODI game, whereas it generally isn't that useful in Tests.

Yeah,also he doesn't seem to have the ability to play long sustained innings on a consistent basis. Mentally hasn't made the right adjustments to step up to the big leagues, he can't judge the tempo of a Test match at all either.

 

[chaminda_00]

Yuvraj doesn't even stand out in Indian First Class domestic cricket.

What wrong with his Indian FC domestic cricket?

Record for Punjab and North Zone:
39 Matches: 2937 runs @ 51.53

It is his record for Indian in Tests and tour matches. As well as that shocker he had in Yorkshire that bring his FC average down.

 

[Uppercut]

What wrong with his Indian FC domestic cricket?

Record for Punjab and North Zone:
39 Matches: 2937 runs @ 51.53

It is his record for Indian in Tests and tour matches. As well as that shocker he had in Yorkshire that bring his FC average down.

Good spot.

 

[Arjun]

Yuvraj has never got much of a fair try, except in the Chappell regime, pre-Vengsarkar intervention. He was quite bad at that time, but it wasn't much, until we saw the Fab Four back together. He's always been in and out of the team, never a regular fixture, which may have had its effect on him. Maybe now, with Ganguly retired and possibly Dravid to be dropped or retire on his own terms, we will see more of Yuvraj, and hopefully a better player.

 

[Prince EWS]

What wrong with his Indian FC domestic cricket?

Record for Punjab and North Zone:
39 Matches: 2937 runs @ 51.53

It is his record for Indian in Tests and tour matches. As well as that shocker he had in Yorkshire that bring his FC average down.

The very fact that he's only played 39 matches really astounds me. It's quite possible that the selectors could have ruined a decent Test prospect by selecting him too early for ODI cricket and robbing him of First Class experience.

Anyway, as has been said, good spot. I never realised that.

 

[Jono]

Was just about to point out that Yuvi's FC stats are useless considering how early he played for India... He's barely played for Punjab!

That's the fallacy (among many) in relying on FC stats within the Indian system to judge a player's ability to play in the longer form.

Remember how young he still is, and how long he's been playing intl cricket for.

The amount of ODIs India played when he had just become a mainstay in the team meant he'd barely have an opportunity to play FC cricket. Same story with a few players when chosen young for ODIs.

 

[masterblaster]

Was just about to point out that Yuvi's FC stats are useless considering how early he played for India... He's barely played for Punjab!

That's the fallacy (among many) in relying on FC stats within the Indian system to judge a player's ability to play in the longer form.

Remember how young he still is, and how long he's been playing intl cricket for.

The amount of ODIs India played when he had just become a mainstay in the team meant he'd barely have an opportunity to play FC cricket. Same story with a few players when chosen young for ODIs.

While watching the game today they showed that Yuvraj has already played 230 ODI games for India. I knew he had played for India for quite some time now, but 230 games is a hell of a lot of games and is enough to classify him as a seasoned veteran.

 

[Debris]

Lack of technique.

 

[Precambrian]

Having a look at his record and after 25 Tests it is quite poor, but in ODIs he carves up, so why can't he translate his ODi form over to Test cricket, or in deed FC cricket where his average is quite low with 43.

Yuvraj is slowly getting there as a test batsman. I don't think he will average 50 ever, but I'll be happy if he ends up with a test career avg around 45.

 

[Richard]

Mark Waugh had a ridiculously good Shield record though; Yuvraj doesn't even stand out in Indian First Class domestic cricket.

He used to though. Before he made the mistake of joining Yorkshire his First-Class average was in the mid-50s.

Since that spell he's not carved-up Ranji\Duleep cricket like he used to.

EDIT: Tharmi's beaten me to most of that.

 

[duffer]

The amount of ODIs India played when he had just become a mainstay in the team meant he'd barely have an opportunity to play FC cricket. Same story with a few players when chosen young for ODIs.

One of my main worries for guys like Rohit and Kohli.

 

[silentstriker]

He is getting chances over people who deserve it so much more. It's not simply a matter of waiting for someone to come good - if I was Badrinath, I'd be pissed as hell that a ridiculous non-Test class crap like Yuvraj keeps getting chances while my mountain of runs and centuries in actual First Class cricket count for nothing.

 

[adharcric]

He is getting chances over people who deserve it so much more. It's not simply a matter of waiting for someone to come good - if I was Badrinath, I'd be pissed as hell that a ridiculous non-Test class crap like Yuvraj keeps getting chances while my mountain of runs and centuries in actual First Class cricket count for nothing.

Badrinath got a chance and blew it by batting like **** in warm-up matches. He better seize his next opportunity (soon IMO, as he's still at the top of the queue for reserve middle-order batsmen) because Pujara isn't far behind and you never know when the selectors might take a punt on Raina despite his merely decent first-class record.

 

[honestbharani]

I think they have ear marked guys like Raina and Kohli for only ODIs at this point. The selectors seem to have Badrinath as their next middle order guy and unless he really hits a bad patch I don't see that changing. Lot depends on how Rahul Dravid goes, I guess.


I won't be too surprised if sometime this year we play with a middle order that reads Laxman, Sachin, Badri and Yuvraj...

 

[silentstriker]

Badrinath got a chance and blew it by batting like **** in warm-up matches. He better seize his next opportunity (soon IMO, as he's still at the top of the queue for reserve middle-order batsmen) because Pujara isn't far behind and you never know when the selectors might take a punt on Raina despite his merely decent first-class record.

Blew it? As opposed to Crapraj Singh? How many times did he blow it and kept coming back? And not this warmup crap either. And I don't care about Badrinath particularly - but I'd be pissed off if I was anyone who was near the top of the run charts if an overrated non-Test class arrogant bastard like Yuvraj got a spot that should go to a real Test player. And that kept on happening for year after year.

And why? Cause he belted some U-19 crap and then scored a few in some crap ODI matches.

 

[SJS]

Yuvraj is not rubbish but he does have a problem which is exposed more in the longer format. He almost never goes onto the backfoot.

He has no backfoot defence.

This is a problem you find increasingly rampant in the sub-continent, much more in Pakistan as I have mentioned before. Hence the problem with openers in Pakistan.

Yuvraj has great strokes off the frontfoot and with his fabulous timing and hand eye co-ordination, he is still able to manage the medium pacers and bowling with no sideways movement from the quicker bowlers. But the moment the speed goes up, its not pitched up and the ball starts deviating , Yuvraj is in strife.

I dont see how that will ever change for I have not seen him make any effort to rectify this. Whats even more amazing is that no one, at least in public, has mentioned that he has a defect and a grave one for backfoot play is what really differentiates a good player from a world class one.

 

[Jono]

Blew it? As opposed to Crapraj Singh? How many times did he blow it and kept coming back? And not this warmup crap either. And I don't care about Badrinath particularly - but I'd be pissed off if I was anyone who was near the top of the run charts if an overrated non-Test class arrogant bastard like Yuvraj got a spot that should go to a real Test player. And that kept on happening for year after year.

And why? Cause he belted some U-19 crap and then scored a few in some crap ODI matches.

Over-reaction.

 

[Flem274*]

Good fightback from India, though losing Sehwag made me . Hope Sachin tons up.

Yuvraj (who is obviously isn't very good, but would walk into NZ, SL, WI and would be very close to making SL's team) should not even be near making the Indian batting lineup.

Nah.

Apart from anything else, he's rubbish away from home, so he'd even risk being a FC journeyman in those countries.

Unless he could bat in the top three then he's not a chance in NZ or SL.

Would love him in the NZ ODI team however.