‘New fielding rules affected Yuvi’s bowling’
17 March 2015 10:43 PM GMT
Yuvraj Singh’s 15-wicket cup haul in the 2011 ICC World Cup was one of the major factors which contributed to MS Dhoni lifting the coveted trophy but the Indian captain says last edition’s ‘Player of The Tournament’ is no longer as effective as before in the current set-up.
Dhoni points to the change in field restrictions (with only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle) being precisely the reason why India lost ‘Yuvraj Singh, the handy left-arm spinner.’ “If you see, after the rule change happened, Yuvi didn’t bowl a lot. We must admit that once the rule change (field restriction) happened, it did affect his bowling although he is a regular with the ball in T20s,” Dhoni said in context of whether Suresh Raina can do a Yuvraj of 2011 in the ongoing edition.
Dhoni has never been a big advocate of the four-fielder theory as he feels a lot of his part-time bowlers, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, became far less effective in changed circumstances.
“In the pre-field restriction days, Viru paaji, Sachin Paaji and Yuvi used to bowl a lot and we depended on them. But they were all part-timers and on good batting tracks, they would find it difficult to bowl well. Like Raina is a good option if there is some help from the wicket. Also, he bowls a good line to the left-handers. I felt I needed him during the Ireland game. Like Shikhar (Dhawan) and Rohit (Sharma) are also part-timers but I can only use them when conditions are conducive,” said Dhoni. Since Yuvraj’s name is always synonymous with World Cup triumph, Dhoni was also asked to compare Yuvraj’s performance with that of Raina’s in this edition, the skipper put it down to their different batting positions.
“Look, if you see Yuvi’s career, he started at No 5 but as soon as he was doing well, he was batting at No 4. I guess from 2005 onwards, he has always batted at No 4 while Kaif was there at No 5 for sometime and I also batted in that position. “Now Raina bats at No 5 which is a very key number in terms of context of the game. So it will be difficult to compare, Yuvi and Raina as the batting Nos were not similar,” Dhoni explained.
Yuvraj singh confident India will retain World Cup
Praising Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s efficient leadership, out-of-favour Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh said that the team’s spectacular showing in this edition so far makes him believe that the Men in Blue can retain the trophy. “The way the Indian cricket is performing under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the World Cup clearly manifests it will retain the world champions title,” Yuvraj, who inaugurated a cricket academy at ITM University here, told reporters. The left-handed batsman also said Dhoni’s strategies have worked well against the big teams in the 50-over showpiece event so far.
Dhoni points to the change in field restrictions (with only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle) being precisely the reason why India lost ‘Yuvraj Singh, the handy left-arm spinner.’ “If you see, after the rule change happened, Yuvi didn’t bowl a lot. We must admit that once the rule change (field restriction) happened, it did affect his bowling although he is a regular with the ball in T20s,” Dhoni said in context of whether Suresh Raina can do a Yuvraj of 2011 in the ongoing edition.
Dhoni has never been a big advocate of the four-fielder theory as he feels a lot of his part-time bowlers, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, became far less effective in changed circumstances.
“In the pre-field restriction days, Viru paaji, Sachin Paaji and Yuvi used to bowl a lot and we depended on them. But they were all part-timers and on good batting tracks, they would find it difficult to bowl well. Like Raina is a good option if there is some help from the wicket. Also, he bowls a good line to the left-handers. I felt I needed him during the Ireland game. Like Shikhar (Dhawan) and Rohit (Sharma) are also part-timers but I can only use them when conditions are conducive,” said Dhoni. Since Yuvraj’s name is always synonymous with World Cup triumph, Dhoni was also asked to compare Yuvraj’s performance with that of Raina’s in this edition, the skipper put it down to their different batting positions.
“Look, if you see Yuvi’s career, he started at No 5 but as soon as he was doing well, he was batting at No 4. I guess from 2005 onwards, he has always batted at No 4 while Kaif was there at No 5 for sometime and I also batted in that position. “Now Raina bats at No 5 which is a very key number in terms of context of the game. So it will be difficult to compare, Yuvi and Raina as the batting Nos were not similar,” Dhoni explained.
Yuvraj singh confident India will retain World Cup
Praising Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s efficient leadership, out-of-favour Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh said that the team’s spectacular showing in this edition so far makes him believe that the Men in Blue can retain the trophy. “The way the Indian cricket is performing under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the World Cup clearly manifests it will retain the world champions title,” Yuvraj, who inaugurated a cricket academy at ITM University here, told reporters. The left-handed batsman also said Dhoni’s strategies have worked well against the big teams in the 50-over showpiece event so far.
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