Yuvraj Singh keen to make Test comeback

Yuvraj Singh has been out of action since India’s virtual quarter-final clash against Australia in the ICC World T20 last month. He sustained an ankle injury which kept him in the dugout in India’s semi-final loss to eventual champions West Indies in Mumbai.

The stylish left-handed batsman is yet to make a debut for his new IPL team, the Sunrisers Hyderabad and is targeting a 6 May return to mark his debut.

Talking to the Times of India, the 34-year-old cricketer discussed his chances of making a comeback to the Indian ODI side. He said, “It depends on how well the IPL goes. If I do well in it, I may get an opportunity. So, let's see what happens. Right now, it's tough to get a spot in the India ODI side, because in the middle order, Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey are playing really well.”

The Punjab-born batsman also spoke about his Test career. He has scored 1900 runs in 40 Test matches at an average of 33.92, “In our time, there was so much competition that it was hard to get opportunities. So, whatever the circumstances, I think I did decently well. There were times when I couldn't convert my '60s and '70s into 100s. So, I think that's where I lacked. Instead of three, if I had six to seven hundreds, I'd have been happier, but it's not easy to score hundreds at No 6.”

Yuvraj had been the 12th man of the Indian Test team for a number of years but did not get many opportunities. When asked about that he stated, “When you've been the 12th man of a team for seven years, and you have greats like Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman, it's difficult to get an opportunity, because that time we used to get one or two chances.”

Yuvraj is still hopeful for a Test return and has scored plenty of runs in the domestic circuit in the last few years. He spoke about his chances of getting back into the Test team, “There's an opportunity there, for sure. India is playing 13-15 Tests in India next. I've scored six-seven hundreds in the past couple of seasons in the Ranji Trophy. If I get a chance to play on spinning tracks, I've been playing spin well. I'd love to play Tests again. See, selection isn't in my hand. All I can do is try my best.”

When asked about his take on the drought issue in Maharashtra and the shift of IPL matches from the state Yuvraj added, “I don't think IPL has got to do anything with what the situation is in India. I don't think there is any reason that the IPL shouldn't go on.”