Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar says the dashing Punjab batsman will have to perform consistently if the team is to become world beaters.
NEW DELHI: India might have won the tri-series in Australia without much fireworks from Yuvraj Singh, but chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar says the dashing Punjab batsman will have to perform consistently if the team is to become world beaters.
Vengsarkar, who was praised by former cricketers for bringing in young blood in the team for the Australia tour, said Yuvraj had to blame himself for his failures.
"I am disappointed as I always had expectations from him. Yuvraj needs to be more consistent. He is a great talent but he has to perform to his potential," said Vengsarkar of the middle-order batsman who scored 202 runs from nine matches in the tri-series.
"His non performance is something that he has to address himself. He has been in the team for about eight years and if he has not established himself as a Test player he has no one but himself to blame," he said in an interview published in the latest issue of 'The Week' magazine.
Vengsarkar was all praise for ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who led the team to the historic win in Australia.
"Dhoni has really matured as a skipper, he handled the situation very well. Most important, he believes in his players," said Vengsarkar.
The former skipper, however, refused to comment when asked whether the tri-series victory had strengthened Dhoni's claim to Test captaincy.
'I do not wish to comment on the Test captaincy now' was his reply.
Vengsarkar also supported Dhoni on the frequent changes in batting order as 'long as the team was winning.'
"I do not think there is any reason to worry over the changed batting order in ODIs. When you deliver your best always, it does not matter when and where you are used. In 50-over or 20-over games, the batting order and selection is on the basis of match situations. In Test matches, a settled batting is essential."
He was happy that the selection panel's courage to select a young team to Australia had paid dividends.
"Selection is a thankless job and we will always be under criticism. You need courage of conviction as your belief in certain player is based on a gut feeling and experience."
"There is no reason to take the risk and pick youngsters unless your are sure that they will deliver. Having a young team is good but only if they have the caliber to deliver at the highest level," he explained.
He said the main difference between this young bunch and earlier teams was the confidence level and Dhoni's boys were high on confidence.
"Most important, their energy level in the last 15 to 20 overs was very critical and that made all the difference," he said.
Vengsarkar was non-committal when asked about a rotation policy to give chances to some players who are cooling their heels due to injury.
"We are spoilt for options now. Bowlers like RP Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar are not in the side at the moment. It is a very good sign. But we will decide on the rotation policy when the time comes."
"We need to keep winning. We need to close the gap with Australia. Right now we are second in Test ranking. I want to see India reach the top," said Vengsarkar.
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