NEws about Yuvi

Yuvraj Singh confident of India retaining World Cup

Praising Dhoni's efficient leadership, Yuvraj said the team's spectacular showing so far makes him believe that India can retain the trophy.

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 that it will retain the world champions title," Yuvraj, who inaugurated a cricket academy at ITM University, told reporters.

The left-handed batsman also opines that Dhoni's strategies have worked well against the big teams in the 50-over showpiece event.

Yuvraj recalled the days of playing against Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar alongwith captain Sourav Ganguly in Karachi.

"His balling speed was over 150 km which was a challenge," the all-rounder recounted.

Yuvraj also said in a lighter vein that Akhtar is a good commentator as well.

New field restriction rules affected Yuvraj's bowling: MS Dhoni

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.

Yuvraj Singh's 15 wickets in the 2011 World Cup was one of the major factors which contributed to Mahendra Singh Dhoni lifting the coveted trophy but the Indian captain says last edition's 'Player of The Tournament' is no longer as effective as he used to be 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 that a lot of his part-time bowlers including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, 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.

Dhoni did admit that 2015 edition has not been the one for specialist allrounders as most of them have not got opportunities to showcase their skills with the bat.

"The allrounders have not got a lot of chance during this World Cup. If you compare with lot of allrounders (Yuvraj, Dwayne Bravo), who played key role during last World Cup, are not playing this time. Also an allrounder needs to get a chance to bat between 30th and 35th over. That gives him a chance to score a 50 and also bowl decent number of overs," he said.

"That situation didn't arise till now in this World Cup.

"They haven't been challenged in their batting although they have got more exposed to bowling. Also every allrounder is not like Jacques Kallis batting at No. 3."

Link-up reports with Yuvraj Singh irks Preity Zinta

Actress-producer Preity Zinta has never refrained from speaking her mind, so it did not come as a surprise when she took to micro-blogging site Twitter to shun link-up reports with Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh calling such comments as "sexist".

"Comments like these are sexist & reek of cheapness at my place of work. Pls refrain from writing that YUVRAJ & PREITY were in a relationship," the actress tweeted.

"Dear Media (Specially International Business times) HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THAT I HAVE NEVER DATED OR INTENDED TO DATE YUVRAJ SINGH?," she added.

Yuvraj Singh(R) with Preity Zinta. 

The actress, who uses the digital platform to connect with her fans, was last seen in the 2014 release "Happy Ending".

World Cup 2015: Can Suresh Raina be India's Yuvraj of 2011?

Yuvraj was the Man of the Series in India's 2011 World Cup triumph and Raina's form suggests he can take over from where Yuvi left.
Rohit Sharma recently called him one of two or three best finishers of a One-Day International innings. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said no one was better equipped in the Indian line-up than him to take on the bowling from ball one. They were both referring to Suresh Raina, limited-overs performer supreme who will most likely have to put his Test aspirations on hold for the foreseeable future after twin ducks on his comeback in Sydney last month.

It is difficult to miss Raina, in the India Blue, on the field. From slip, he is either constantly engaged in conversation with his stumper-captain, or screaming out words of encouragement to the bowler. Every time a half decent stop is middle in the inner circle - increasingly, India's Gen Next is making that something of a good habit - Raina is the first on the spot for a slap of hands or a pat on the back. And when a wicket falls, he magically appears next to the bowler, embracing in a bone-crunching bear hug that can't but trigger an endorphin rush.These are not Suresh Raina's primary responsibilities. He is mainly in the Indian limited-overs set-up for his heavy-duty batting with a penchant for the on side, for his muscular decimation of bowling attacks, for the variety he brings with his left-hand batsmanship, for the alacrity with which he runs between the wickets. Raina's presence in the Indian team owes itself to his mercurial batting, but Dhoni and his men are thankful for the entire package - offspinner competent, fielder exceptional, motivator most welcome.

Raina is no stranger to cricket on the big stage. He shouldn't be, given that his international debut was as far back as in 2005 when he arrived as a young kid with tremendous potential. Some then called him the poor man's Yuvraj; Raina has gone on to carve a niche for himself, though he himself is desirous of embracing and carrying out the same role that Yuvraj Singh did in 2011, when his all-round brilliance drove the Indian team to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."I have always batted lower down the order and in the previous World Cup, when I didn't play the bulk of the matches, I observed Yuvi and saw how he used to finish games for the side," Raina told bcci.tv, not long after his pivotal 74 against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday (February 15) night. "I want to play Yuvraj Singh's role in this World Cup. I want to field, bowl and bat well."

That's not a bad role to want to play. Yuvraj, of course, was the Player of the Tournament four years ago, making attractive runs, picking up important wickets at crucial times and raising his fielding levels that had fallen since the knee injury during Champions Trophy 2006. Raina had had the opportunity to watch Yuvraj finish a game from close quarters in his very first World Cup appearance. Brought in for the Ahmedabad quarterfinal against Australia as India finally dumped their failing experiment with Yusuf Pathan, Raina walked in with the tension mounting, 74 needed off 75 with five wickets remaining. Australia had evicted Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni in the space of 25 deliveries, this was India's last recognised pair, Yuvraj was in some strife and Raina was on his World Cup debut. Talk about baptism by fire.

Australia sensed an opening. Their World Cup defence on the line, they gave it their all. Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson all came steaming in, seeking to cash in on Raina's nerves and his susceptibility against the short ball. Despite his physical struggles, Yuvraj looked safe as houses; he also steered Raina through the nervy opening period, after which India just got on the bike and motored away. In the end, India won with 14 deliveries to spare, Raina's contribution an unbeaten 34 off 28 deliveries.

Raina's World Cup career, such as it is, is pretty impressive. In three digs, his lowest completed score is the 74 he made on Sunday. He averages 144, aided by two not outs, and his strike rate is a touch over 117. Admittedly, the database is too small for too much to be read into these numbers, apart from the fact that Raina can do serious damage once he gets in.

Against Pakistan, Raina was able to walk in on the back of a 129-run second-wicket stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. At 163 for 2 midway through the 30th over, India were primed to kick on. Dhoni sent Raina out at No. 4 because of the game situation - 20 overs to the end of the innings - and to maintain the left-right balance that wasn't upset despite Dhawan's dismissal.

"You specialise your game according to a general pattern," explained Dhoni. "Raina, usually he should be in around the 30-over stage, plus or minus two-four overs, that's his bracket. That way, he gets to play a few overs before the powerplay, to see the bounce of the pitch, and then he can accelerate. The longer he bats, the more difficult it is to stop him.

"That's the role assigned to him and in this game, he did it perfectly well. He was provided with a platform where he could go in and be a bit more expressive. What we liked was he took a few deliveries initially and then went on to play the big shots. He was more calculative in his innings, and he picked his areas where he wanted to hit. He read the bowlers well, where they wanted to bowl. He put pressure, and that's what it's all about. If you can put pressure on the bowlers, you'll push them to commit more mistakes by bowling in areas where they don't want to bowl. I think his innings was special."

Raina made 75 off 56 with five fours and three sixes, his boundary hitting restricted exclusive to the leg side. The ease with which he can clear the ropes meant not even the presence of four men on the fence deterred him; he made 72 of the 110-run stand with a well-set Kohli, who later was all praise for the manner in which Raina batted. "It was a two-paced surface, it wasn't as easy to bat on as Raina made it appear," Kohli, 107 off 126 deliveries, was to say admiringly, almost a trace enviously.

The word going around the international circuit is that Raina is a sitting duck against the short ball. Mooen Ali has been bounced out more than once by India themselves, George Bailey recently closed his eyes and his face was directed towards point as he fended Stuart Broad to short-leg in Perth earlier this month. 5178 runs and 208 ODIs later, however, it is still Raina who is the sitting duck. At an average of 35.71, a strike rate of 93.38. Mainly batting at 5s and 6s. If a sitting duck can throw up those numbers, give me a few more of those, I say.