Stop nursing Yuvraj Singh. Give him a reality check instead

Here is what we have read in the past ten hours: Yuvraj had a bad day. It was not easy to bat. Even the best struggle some times. He is a class batsman and is just going through a bad patch. Harbhajan Singh went on an all out defense of Yuvraj Singh on Twitter. Quoting the Under 19 world cup, Nat West Trophy and the 2011 World Cup. Bhajji, the under 19 WC which Yuvi played in was in 1999. The Nat West Trophy of 2002? Excuse me while I try to get around that but that was twelve years ago. Even the ODI World Cup was three years ago and in professional sport that is a long time. With Bhajji’s logic our team should still have Mohinder Amarnath (1983 World Cup) and Shastri (The Champion of Champions 1985 B&H). Why is it not okay to blame athletes in this country? Why should players irrespective of their past glories not be criticized for playing badly. So what if they were class players in their day? We are not talking about their day, we are talking about today. So all those of you out there defending Yuvraj Singh - it is perhaps time to eat the humble pie and shut up! [caption id=“attachment_1468905” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India’s Yuvraj Singh leaves the field after being dismissed against Sri Lanka during their ICC Twenty20 World Cup cricket final match. Reuters[/caption] It is this nonsensical nursing of players as arrogant as Yuvraj Singh that makes them believe that it is fine to do what he did. One good innings and all will be well. Don’t nurse him. Make him play better. It is because people do this after Yuvraj scored 60 against Australia he came out saying that he is in good form in T20’s. These arrogant types don’t get reality checks unless we give it to them. I really don’t care how classy a player he was. He has been so bad with the bat in recent times that anyone who wants to defend him has no legs to stand on. That is the beauty of sports, numbers never lie. It doesn’t matter if it is the last time we see Yuvraj in Indian colors or not, as long as we see him in Indian colors because he deserves to be there and is playing well. That brings us to MS Dhoni and his now frustratingly senseless captaincy. As much as you want to blame Yuvraj Singh (and he should be blamed) for last night’s loss, MS Dhoni’s captaincy was just as much as at fault. His love affair with Yuvraj in the playing eleven potentially cost India the World Cup. Not to take any credit away from Sri Lanka who have looked like a solid team all tournament, but that innings of Yuvraj’s killed all and any momentum that Virat Kohli was generating. Here are some questions: Why was Yuvraj consistently given chances? In the past when he struggled with the bat he would contribute with the ball and was becoming what Afridi has become to Pakistan, a valuable bowler. But now he no longer bowls. More importantly the one time good fielder can barely catch a cold forget a cricket ball. Why does this love affair with Yuvraj not end? When the match was poised for a break out, the in-form Suresh Raina was waiting in the dug out looking like a child who is not allowed to bat because the bullies of the playground didn’t let him on the field. Sitting in the dugout were Raina, Dhoni and Jadeja. Yet, Dhoni sends in an out-of-form Yuvi. What Yuvi did with his chance, we all witnessed. Dhoni has always been a wild card of a captain but he has also been a winning captain. The wild cards are all fun and games until you start losing. This is not just about last night’s loss. Sure, India had a decent run in the World T20 but we didn’t enter the tournament to come second. The recent tours of South Africa, New Zealand and the Asia Cup (Dhoni was not captain) are reasons to introspect on coaching changes and even a change in captaincy. There is no place for favoritism in a team game. Either Dhoni or his stubbornness must go. It may be time for Virat Kohli.