Monday, March 18, 2002 You can see it in his walk. It's not the Viv Richards I-will-murder-you-right-now swagger, nor is it Sunil Gavaskar's intent I've-shut-the-world-out-of-my-mind walk to the batting crease. Yuvraj Singh looks neither majestic nor self-absorbed as he strides out to the middle. But there is an air of relaxed confidence in his steps. He looks undaunted by circumstance and unfazed by opposition: he looks like a man who believes that he can do it. You can't ask for a better attitude from your No. 6 in a one-dayer.

The record books will note that each of his three one-day fifties to date have been in a winning cause. Look at them closely, and you will see each of them was a match-retriever, rescuing the team from a situation that seemed to be slipping out of control. He has also got two scores above 40, both support acts in a winning cause. So maybe when Yuvraj fires, India cannot lose?

But look again. The first of these knocks – a sensational, blistering 84 against Australia in the ICC Knockout at Nairobi – came on October 3, 2000 in his first one-day innings (although it was actually his second match). His mature unbeaten 98 against Sri Lanka in Colombo came on August 1, 2001, in his 19th match. And the last big one – 80 not out against Zimbabwe – came on March 16, 2002, in his 29th match. His batting average without these three innings is 15.04 from 26 matches, and so you can't really be shocked that he has not featured in 19 of the 48 one-day matches India have played since he made his debut.

Yuvraj can only be held partially responsible for this gross non-utilisation of talent: his upbringing and the Indian cricket management must share the blame. Yuvraj is the son of Yograj Singh, by reputation the fastest bowler India has ever produced, but one who played only a single Test because he couldn't control his line, his length or his temper. Yuvraj's childhood swung between being spoilt and being traumatised. His father showered him with more than enough cricket gear for an entire team, and used his local influence to ensure that Yuvraj always got the right breaks and the right batting positions. But the bitter separation of his parents, and his father's Bohemian lifestyle, brought the son plenty of strife. The day Yuvraj inspired India to victory against Australia in Nairobi, reporters couldn't get a quote from Yograj: he was busy evading the police, who were looking for him in connection with a murder enquiry.

That one matchwinning innings catapulted Yuvraj to exaggerated stardom, and had marketing men scurrying to his doorstep. He was soon India's latest pin-up boy, the endorser of a legion of consumer products and the subject of a million female fantasies.

It would be conjecture to assume that this had an impact on his cricket. But his game certainly dipped, and he was seen spending more time in bars and nightclubs than ironing out the flaws in his batting technique. His footwork was found wanting against the spinners, and Muttiah Muralitharan made him look like a novice in a tournament in Sharjah, in which India suffered the humiliation of being bowled out for 54. Despite his 98 against Sri Lanka, doubts persist about his ability to play top-class spin.

He was dropped after an average performance in the triangular series in South Africa, although to be fair to him, he actually failed only twice. The selectors, it was suggested, were not merely judging him on form, but also on temperament and off-field behaviour. Did someone take him aside for a quiet word? Was he given any advice, or even a warning? We don't know.

But he has served his sentence, and hopefully the time spent on the sidelines has made him not only a better cricketer but a wiser one too. The Yuvraj Singh we saw at Hyderabad is the man India needs. He hits the ball cleanly and handsomely and without a hint of a slog. He finds the gaps and runs hard. He is India's best fielder at point. And he can handle pressure. What more could you ask for?

His matchwinning innings made the Indian cricket fan feel good about Indian cricket once more. No effort should be spared to make sure that he is never left out of the national team again.

Sambit Bal is editor of Wisden.com in India.

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