Profiles / Andrew Hughes / 11 December 2008 / Leave a comment

He's one of the top Twenty20 and ODI batsmen in the world so why has he consistently failed to cut the mustard in Test cricket, asks Andrew Hughes.

For years, the Indian middle order had been a closed shop. Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman. It was a cricket mantra. Repeating those names one after the other gave Indian fans faith. With those four in their team, anything was possible and even the mightiest opponents need not be feared.

Now the spell is broken, Ganguly has gone and there is a hole in the Indian batting line-up as glaring as a missing tooth in a beauty queen's smile. It is appropriate then, that the first man chosen to fill the gap should be a player as cosmetically appealing as Yuvraj Singh; a man once described as a cross between Gary Sobers and Graeme Pollock, with a dash of Frank Woolley thrown in. Five years ago, his Test debut came in place of an injured Ganguly. Now Dada's retirement gives Yuvraj one more chance to make it at the highest level.

If natural talent was all it took; if instinct and timing alone could get you to the top, then Yuvraj would already be a Test regular. But fast hands, a sharp eye and a penchant for the daring are never enough. In the shorter games, he has carved his name into the consciousness of bowlers from all corners of the globe. But this hard-handed, muscular left-hander has failed repeatedly to grasp his Test opportunities.

It is not hard to see why. He has a simple, but flawed technique. On flat Asian pitches, he can bully the bowling and play the brutal power hitting game he utilises in one day matches. But if he has to defend for long periods or, worse still, if the pitch offers any assistance to seam, swing or spin bowlers, he can look ungainly. His sluggish front foot movement means that if the ball deviates from a straight line, he frequently finds himself marooned in the wrong position, playing the wrong line and length, with his bat swishing in ungainly fashion away from his body. His struggles on the last Australian tour were painful to watch.

The technical flaws are compounded by other problems; psychological and physical. All players depend on confidence, but some have a greater store of inner resources they can draw upon in times of poor form. Rather like Herschelle Gibbs, another instinctive player with poor footwork, Yuvraj needs to approach his batting confidently, with an uncluttered mind. Too often he appears racked with doubt, uncertain, even unhappy to be there.

His progress has also been stalled by injury. He tore a knee ligament during the 2006 Champions Trophy and has been troubled by it ever since, though he has refused surgery. There have been shoulder problems and most recently, a back injury. But throughout his struggles for fitness, the Indian press have demonstrated a distinct lack of sympathy. A high profile celebrity, Yuvraj is more likely to be photographed outside a nightclub than at the training ground. Judging from the comments of various eminent administrators over the years, it seems that his reputation as a party animal has hindered Yuvraj's selection prospects.

And yet, intoxicated by the exhibition of hitting he put on during the one day series with England, the selectors have given him first crack at securing the first vacant slot in the Indian middle order. There will be other gaps in that line-up over the next year or too, as Tendulkar and Dravid reach the end of the road. But for Yuvraj, who turns 27 tomorrow, this is his chance.

Coming up behind him are a number of young pretenders, all of them younger men. The likes of the classy Rohit Sharma, the rejuvenated Suresh Raina, newcomer Murali Vijay and young upstarts Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are breathing down his neck. For Yuvraj, it is now or never.

Still, if the market is to be believed, he couldn't wish for an easier opponent than England. Kevin Pietersen's tourists are an astonishing [11.0] to win the First Test in rainy Chennai with the home side on [2.2] and the draw at [2.16].