Question hour for Yuvraj

His 52 and five in the first Test at Galle was an average start to the series but fate intervened. A flu laid him low and Suresh Raina,at 23,five years his junior,played at the Sinhalese Sports Club and made a century on debut. In the third and final Test,as Raina made a half-century in the first innings,Yuvraj,who had all but sealed the No.6 spot,was knocking the ball at the nets.

Regardless,there might be more than a few in the current team who would gladly trade their places for a shot at his place in the one-day team.

With a reputation of being one of the best finishers in one-dayers,Yuvraj can also turn around matches in a flash with the bat,while his left-arm spin is a handy variation. It will be hard for the team management to look beyond Yuvraj with the World Cup around the corner; such has been his impact in the one-day game. Still,when he walks out at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium on Tuesday,Yuvraj will know that in spite of his 7,345 runs and 12 centuries,there will be something to prove.

Yuvraj’s talent won’t be under question but he must show the heart to shake off the disappointment of losing his Test spot. He must show that his hunger for the game,which pundits widely believe has been on the wane over the past year,remains insatiable. There must be a keenness to play each game as if it was his last. Above all,he must show the right kind of attitude,one which will convince Gary Kirsten and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the selectors that,when the team list is made for the World Cup,Yuvraj’s name is one of the first on the sheet. His fitness levels will be tested but more so will be his mental strength.

India will play at least 17 ODIs before the World Cup,including this tri-series in Dambulla. In the run-up to the global event,names will be finalised and roles assigned,based largely on performances in games like these.

As far as competition goes,Rohit Sharma will be eyeing a spot in the final XI — at the expense of Yuvraj — and no one can fault Saurabh Tiwary and Ravindra Jadeja or even Yusuf Pathan for eyeing similar dreams. All of them put together don’t have the experience and talent to stake a claim for Yuvraj’s spot but,with the World Cup just six months away,a couple of match-winning performances from any of the younger players could change the equation.

Instead of going into a shell,Yuvraj must enjoy the challenge and banish any negative thoughts the Asia Cup snub might bring to his mind. The grapevine has it that he sulked when he was replaced by Kumar Sangakkara as the Kings XI Punjab skipper. At the P Sara Oval,the venue of the third and final Test,he was heckled by drunk fans when going out with the drinks. ‘Waterboy’ they shouted,and got under his skin. It hasn’t been an easy outing.

At a promotional event in the run-up to the Test series,someone kept asking Yuvraj why he wasn’t scoring runs and cemented his place in the Test side. “Iss baar mein cement daloonga aur pair rakhoonga aur place cement ho jayaga. This time just watch. I’ll score runs and lots of them,” Yuvraj had said.

A month later,wonder what Yuvraj would say if the same person asked him about his spot in the one-day side.