Yuvraj Singh’s quickfire 35 (18 balls) on Tuesday, embellished with three sixes struck in his inimitable style, defined his re-emergence after returning to the side.
Among the many expressing their happiness on this effort was his captain, >Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been backing Yuvraj for the No. 5 spot in the batting order ever since he got back in January.
“I have already told that more time he (Yuvraj) gets, the better it is for him.
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“When you return to international cricket, there is a lot of pressure from yourself and there are people’s expectations as well.
“I felt that >his approach has always been very good . He gives himself two or three balls before playing the big shot,” said Dhoni, in a way justifying his decision to back Yuvraj.
“You saw today, he is someone who can hit sixes at will. So, if the same thing continues gradually, he will be in a very good position before the World Cup (ICC Twenty20),” was how the Indian captain read Yuvraj’s spectacular effort after the win against Sri Lanka.
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>Yuvraj’s effort has made his skipper more comfortable about the balance in the side. Looking at the format of the game, with an eye on the upcoming World Cup, Dhoni has reasons to feel secure with the bowling where Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, R. Ashwin and Hardik Pandya have been delivering.
“If you are bowling well, you can carry it into your batting. If you are batting well, you can carry it into your bowling. That’s the reason why the team is looking more balanced.
“Looking at the conditions, you have three fast bowlers and spinners. Then you include two part-timers if needed. So it looks a very good bunch of players, ideally suited for the conditions,” said Dhoni after a third straight win here and the eighth in nine matches in two months.
Dhoni has been insisting on rotation of players, to have a fair measure of his side’s strength, and the final league match against United Arab Emirates offers him the opportunity.
“We will definitely make a few changes. We still want the strength and the composition of the side to be very good,”