Grade A for three after study tour

Yashpal, in fact, was so much impressed by Yuvraj8217;s gutsy hundred in the four-day second Test which India lost, though, he cannot stop eulogising the Punjab batsman8217;s talent and calibre. 8216;8216;I had always known Yuvraj as a very fine one-day player. But the disciplined manner in which he batted for nearly four hours and his selection of shots were what impressed those who were witness to his brilliant knock. After a very long time I had seen such a brilliant knock against some quality pace bowling, which included the likes of Andrew Nel, H D Ackerman, Jacques Rudolph and Martin van Jaarsveld.

8220; He was hit on the body a couple of times but showing great courage he batted on undeterred. That showed his commitment and willingness to play a long innings,8217;8217; Yash continued.

Mohd Kaif was no stranger for Yashpal as he had seen the Uttar Pradesh youngster at close quarters, having worked as the state8217;s Ranji Trophy coach for the past three years. 8216;8216;Kaif came up with a few good knocks and was dependable in the middle order,8217;8217; was how Yashpal described Kaif8217;s contribution to the team on the tour.

Yashpal was also impressed by the fine effort of young wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel of Gujarat. 8216;8216;After Kiri Syed Kirmani, I found in Ajay Ratra of Haryana someone who was very confident in his work behind the stumps. Parthiv showed the same confidence and was clean in his collections. As a batsman, too, he came up to our expectations, especially his 69 runs coming at No.7 and giving support to Kaif were encouraging signs,8217;8217; Yash said.

8216;8216;Not only that, when we asked him to open the innings in the one-dayer, he batted against the likes of Nel, showing courage and confidence. He made a quickfire 32 and completely dominated the bowling. If he is groomed properly, I am sure we should have a decent keeper for the senior team in the near future,8217;8217; Yash, who had gone to Pakistan in 1978 as India8217;s second wicketkeeper, said with confidence.

Another player who made most of the opportunities during the tour was medium pacer L Balaji. 8216;8216;He bowled exceptionally well in the Tests. He has good stamina and speed and could be used for longer spells,8217;8217; was his opinion about the Tamil Nadu speedster.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, too, bowled well in side games and the second Test but was 8216;8216;unlucky to see a couple of catches being dropped off his bowling.8217;8217;

Yashpal was most disappointed by the inconsistency of the openers. 8216;8216;They Amit Pagnis and Gautam Gambhir are talented but failed to apply themselves. We never got a decent start in any of the games, thanks to early dismissals of the openers,8217;8217; was how Yashpal put it.

8216;8216;I was given a specific task of motivating the players and preparing them for tougher competitions. I feel I have achieved that objective as the team played against some strong teams,8217;8217; Yashpal concluded.