The prince who wouldn’t be king

S. Dinakar

The Yuvraj Singh story is a compelling one. It’s a tale of fire, fight, flight and more.

Yuvraj waged a heroic battle against the flames that threatened to consume him, and soared as in dreams. On those occasions when he fell, he picked himself up to take wing again.

The book ‘Yuvi’ by senior cricket writer Makarand Waingankar provides an engaging account of Yuvraj’s incredible journey. Cricket is Yuvraj’s canvas and the willow his brush. Waingankar manages to capture the essence, the colourfulness of Yuvraj’s batsmanship.

The gifted one also answered searching questions posed by things other than the game. All the drama in Yuvraj’s life — including his stirring comeback from cancer — has been viewed insightfully in the book whose motif is hope.

A friend of the family, the author lends an insider’s perspective to the cricketer’s rise from the periphery to the centre-stage. Having been involved at the grass root level – he was a part of the BCCI Talent Resource Development Wing (TRDW) –Waingarkar was able to witness the stunning transformation of the southpaw from a simple but naughty boy to a star and a brand.

Someone who has witnessed cricket through the eras of change and turmoil — he began his eventful career as a cricket journalist in 1969 — Waingarkar invariably has his finger on the pulse of the game.

The combative spirit in Yuvraj shines through as we turn the pages. The young man peered through a seemingly endless tunnel of darkness when diagnosed with the cancer of the lung but came through the ordeal.

His strength of mind surfaced when Yuvraj, in a central role, fought through the barrier of pain through India’s victorious campaign in the World Cup, 2011.

Says Waingarkar, “A fighter is made out of circumstances. Yuvraj Singh is one such fighter.”

A champion is not made without sweat and tears and Waingarkar has dedicated a chapter each to Yuvraj’s parents Yograj and Shabnam for their sacrifices.

Yograj, a fast bowler of immense possibilities who figured in just one Test in the 80s, was fuel-driven by a burning ambition — to him it was a mission — to see his son fulfil his unrealised dreams in cricket. And Shabnam, a strong lady who does not press the panic button easily, gave Yuvraj limitless emotional support as he grappled with cancer.

Technical analysis

Importantly, the book seeks to explain Yuvraj’s inconsistency at the Test level, despite his wealth of talent.

The technical analysis is sharp and precise in a separate chapter “Speaking of technique.”

Former Australia captain Greg Chappell says both Yuvraj and Michael Bevan, brilliant one-day players, had trouble in Test cricket when the ball was delivered between the head and the chest with fielders close to the bat.

The fact that the fielders were way back when they came in to bat in the ODIs and the inability of the top fast bowlers to send down more than 10 overs, worked to the advantage of Yuvraj and Bevan, feels Chappell.

Saad, a nephew of the late Tiger Pataudi and an exceptional player on bad wickets, talks about Yuvraj’s high back-lift being both his strength and his Achilles’ heel.

His theory oozes with cricketing wisdom. Saad reveals, “Because of the extra distance the bat has to travel to meet a normal good length ball, the batsman needs to commit himself that fraction of a second earlier than usual.

This can be a big disadvantage when he is playing truly quick bowling or genuine seam.”

The former Hyderabad batsman adds, “Not only does a batsman have to commit early but, once committed, finds it very difficult to change his shot as the momentum at the downswing of the bat is greater than that of a normal batsman.”

Since the bat has to perform a larger arc, a slight error in downswing can result in the batsman playing across, he says.

The legendary Vivian Richards overcame the problem because he could control and vary his back-lift to make a particular shot. The answer could lie here for Yuvraj.

- The Hindu