New Delhi: The BCCI announced a 16-member India squad for the first three ODIs of the upcoming India vs Australia limited-overs series on Sunday.
While a lot of changes were not expected following the impressive 5-0 win against Sri Lanka, there were some notable absentees in the squad.
Yuvraj Singh, who was not in the squad for the Lanka series, was expected to return after chief selector MSK Prasad had said that the southpaw was rested, not dropped.
Still, the 35-year-old did not make the cut.
While cricket pundits are already busy discussing if this is the end of the road for one of India's best limited-overs cricketers, former selector Saba Karim begs to differ.
Yuvraj Singh is like a phoenix who has showed again and again that he can make a comeback and prove his critics wrong, according to Karim.
"Discount Yuvraj at your own peril. He is like a phoenix who has time and again shown that he loves rising from the ashes and proving critics wrong. From past experience, I would think it is too early to say that the writing is on the wall. Yes, he has a few issues he needs to work on, but then, he is a champion performer and has time and again proved that," Karim was quoted as saying by CricketNext.
"In fact, to be honest, we during our time as national selectors did for a short span think that it would be very difficult for Yuvraj to make it back to the national team. But I am equally happy to say that he proved us wrong and showed exemplary work ethics to make a return to the national team," he revealed.
Karim added that Yuvraj must not think about the current crop of players.
"Yes, Yuvi need to go back to the drawing board and plan accordingly. He does need to work on his fitness and play domestic games to keep reminding the selectors that he is keen to make it back to the national team. The road is definitely not easy and trust me, nobody knows that better than the man himself," he said.
"I do not think he will be looking much into how the current group is doing. It doesn’t help to think much about those already out there. I am sure Yuvraj would be more interested in working on his game and waiting for the opportune moment when he gets his turn and would wish to make the most of it."
"You cannot say A fits the bill or B fits the bill on a permanent basis. It all changes from situation to situation and you never know when the team management feels that the experience of someone like Yuvraj would suit the bill perfectly. Surely too early to say that the writing is on the wall."
