NEW DELHI: Fitness will be the key to cancer survivor Yuvraj Singh’s selection to the Indian team for a home Test series against England next month, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said yesterday.
“We have to assess whether Yuvraj is ready to field for two days,” said Dhoni when asked whether the skilful all-rounder would be picked for the four-Test series starting in Ahmedabad on November 15.
Yuvraj, who has not played Test cricket since last November, was treated for a rare germ-cell cancer between his lungs in the United States earlier this year.
The 30-year-old returned after chemotherapy treatment in April and played in the recent World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. He also cracked a double-century in a domestic four-day game in Hyderabad this month.
Yuvraj has performed impressively in the ongoing three-day match against England in Mumbai, scoring a half-century and taking two wickets for India ‘A’.
The Indian team for the opening Test will be named on Monday.
“It is very difficult for me to comment on his (Yuvraj) fitness sitting over here. We have to understand that five-day format has its own uncertainties unlike ODIs or T20s,” Dhoni was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. “In ODIs, you know that you have to field for 50 overs only, while in Test cricket there may be a situation that a team might bat for one-and-a-half to two days.
“Having said that it is Yuvraj who is the best judge about how he is feeling. He has played quite a few domestic games now and it is up to him to reflect on his game.”
Yuvraj has played 37 Tests since his international debut in 2000, scoring 1,775 runs at an average of 34.80 with three centuries. He was also named man of the tournament in India’s 50-over World Cup triumph last year.
Meanwhile, Dhoni relishes the sight of a visiting batsman at sea against the turning ball, prodding uncertainly and taking a hit to the rib cage.
It is an image he wants to see his spinners recreate against England next month.
The ignominy of last year’s 4-0 whitewash in England, which cost India their world number one status, appears fresh on the mind of the Indian skipper who hinted yesterday that turning pitches await England in the four-match test series starting in Ahmedabad on November 15.
“For a long time I have not seen an off-spinner bowling to a defensive batsman and hitting the rib cage,” Dhoni told reporters.
“It’s a very painful feeling but you enjoy it...this is the heaven for spinners.” “World over, you have different wickets behaving differently. Naturally when you come to the sub-continent, you get turning tracks.”
The Indian captain, who has led India to both the Twenty20 and 50 overs World Cups, said he had not specifically requested turning pitches.
“It’s not a question of asking for certain kind of tracks. Ultimately, the groundsman knows the wicket best. At times we do put in a requisition but ultimately we play on whatever is offered,” he said.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar is among those who believe India’s job will not be easy against England in the absence of retired batting stalwarts Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.
However, Dhoni remains confident.
“If you see it on paper, you don’t see the likes of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman...but it’s a side that is growing in confidence,” he said.
“We have seen the ODI format where we are doing really well and slowly it’s reflecting on all three formats of the game.”
The selectors will meet in Mumbai on Monday to pick the India team for the first Test with Suresh Raina and Yuvraj, returning from successful cancer treatment, locked in a battle for the number six slot in the batting order.Agencies
