Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni ahead of the first Test against England at Ahmedabad spoke about the importance of Yuvraj Singh in the squad and said that his role in the team is very crucial and after vast international experience, he will be up for it.
“He is someone who wants to perform at the top level, which is Test cricket. He bats at No.5 or No.6, and his left-arm spin is very crucial. The reason being, more often than not, because we don’t have a genuine all-rounder, we play four bowlers. So it’s important that the part-timers contribute, especially when the ball becomes old, you are waiting for new ball, you can’t use your fast bowlers and when you don’t want the spinners to be really tired because even with the new ball they come into play after just 10 overs,” Yuvraj was quoted by The Hindu.
“I feel his contribution will be very important. He is quite intimidating when he bats. He was part of the T20 side, and he has got a fair amount of exposure to international cricket before this. Ultimately, he knows it’s all about cricket for him and he will be up for it,” he added.
Meanwhile a report in The Times of India wrote that Dhoni was in all praise for his two spinners R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha.
He said that both these bowlers understand each other well.
"Ojha can keep one end tight giving Ashwin the opportunity to attack more from the other end. But roles can change. We have seen Ojha giving us the breakthroughs and Ashwin doing the containing job, and both of them still getting wickets,” Dhoni was quoted in the report.
“The best part is that if there is something for them in the wicket, they come into play very quickly in the game," he added.
While ruling out the possibility of fielding three spinners, Dhoni said that Harbhajan Singh’s presence in the side will help the other two spinners a lot.
Bhajji definitely features among the top four or five spinners in India and the good thing is that he is now part of the side for this series. Ojha has played with him in quite a few games but Ashwin hasn't.”
“Ashwin's style is different from Bhajji, but I feel Ashwin will gain a lot by working with Bhajji," said the skipper.