Focus on Yuvraj as India hope for rain-free 2nd ODI

TIL Desk Sports/ Yuvraj Singh’s patchy form and fear of inclement weather will be paramount when India take on the West Indies in the second One Day International, here tomorrow. The first ODI was abandoned after 39.2 overs with India reaching 199 for 3 when persistent showers played spoilsport.

Shikhar Dhawan’s 87 and comeback-man Ajinkya Rahane’s 62 were the highlights of the Indian innings. While weather is not in their control, what will keep Virat Kohli a touch worried is Yuvraj’s form which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence of the highest order.

After a half-century against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy opener, Yuvraj’s sequence of scores has been 7 (vs Sri Lanka), 23 not out (vs South Africa), 22 (vs Pakistan in CT final) and 4 (1st ODI vs WI). There is no debate on the class and experience of Yuvraj but at 35-plus, he surely is a shadow of his old self.

His fielding has gone from bad to worse and skipper Kohli has not felt the need to summon him to bowl his left-arm spinners. Former India captain and current India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid had recently said that team management should have a clear cut policy whether they want Yuvraj going into the 2019 World Cup.