Yuvi chooses NCA over Ranji, BCCI officials say not done

Nagpur, November 22 

Yuvraj Singh’s decision to skip the Ranji Trophy and work on his fitness at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) has not gone down well with a section of BCCI officials. Yuvraj has skipped four of Punjab’s five Ranji games so far — in the only match he played, against Vidarbha, he scored 20 and 42 runs in two innings. 

It has been learnt that Yuvraj, with an eye on the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, is working on his fitness to clear the YoYo fitness test, which he has reportedly failed in the past. The team management has made it mandatory for every player to clear the test to become eligible for selection. The India comeback would also help Yuvraj in getting a good deal in the IPL auction.

What has upset the officials is that Yuvraj has skipped competitive matches to work on his fitness. “We have come to know that he’s doing exclusively fitness training to pass the YoYo test, there are no reports of any injury or rehabilitation. Is taking the Ranji Trophy for granted good?” asked a senior BCCI official. “Does this mean that if he attains 16.1 in the YoYo test (the minimum standard set by the team management) but is without any runs under his belt, he will still be selected for the limited-overs series?” 

It is not clear whether chief selector MSK Prasad, who has been an advocate of playing competitive matches, was kept in the loop about this decision. 

Also, there are rumours doing the rounds that if Yuvraj is picked for the Lankan series, it could well be his swansong series. In less than a month, Yuvraj will turn 36. His fitness and fielding have gone down, and he hardly bowls his left-arm spin anymore. — PTI