Test cricket most important for sixes-star Yuvraj

His performances in the Twenty20 World Cup brought him back into the limelight. And the focus stayed on him during his impressive knocks, including a century, against Australia in the recently concluded one-day series.

Yuvraj’s career is certainly at a high now, but the million dollar question is whether he has changed his batting style after his Twenty20 success.

“When you are chasing 320 runs in 50 overs, you can’t expect me to play like a I would in a Test match. A batsman has to play according to the situation. Every match should be played according to its demands. Fifty overs should be played like 50 overs and a Test match should be played like a five-day game,” he said.

Yuvraj welcomed the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s decision to restrict each team to playing only seven Twenty20 matches per year. His sympathy for the bowlers is natural. For who else can know the pain of being brutally hit, better than Yuvraj, especially after he was smacked for five sixes in a ODI by England’s Dimtri Mascarenhas.

“Twenty20 cricket is really a good thing,” he said, but added quickly: “But it’s only for batsmen and the crowd, who come for entertainment.”

So far, the last few months have been quite a hectic season for the Indian cricketers. “If you see, the last five months we have been playing continuously and you can’t deny the fact that the body is getting tired,” the Punjab batsman said.

Apart from senior players, Yuvraj has also been rested from the Challenger Series. India will then take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a home series.

Asked whether India have an edge playing at home, he said: “You can’t say that. The conditions here are favourable to both teams and it will be a good contest. They have good bowlers like Umar Gul, Mohd Asif and if Shoaib Akhtar comes back, then one can expect a keen tussle between the two teams.”