Yuvraj injury rules out Test chance

Published July 16, 2002

KOLKATA (India), July 15: India batsman Yuvraj Singh fractured his finger in Saturday’s triangular one-day series final against England, an Indian cricket board official said Monday.

Yuvraj will not now be considered as a late addition to the Indian squad for the forthcoming Test series against England.

Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif, who produced some stirring performances with the bat in the one-day tournament, were due to be considered for selection at a meeting on Tuesday to decide on any addition to the 16-player squad for the four-game Test series starting on July 25.

“We now hope he (Yuvraj) would be available for the ICC Champions Cup tournament in Colombo (in September),” the official added.

Kaif and Yuvraj, who had been picked only for the one-day series with Sri Lanka and England and were scheduled to fly home on Monday, had been asked to stay in England and wait for the selectors’ decision.

Yuvraj now looks set to return home to recover from his injury.

Kaif, 21, played the last of his four Tests during India’s 2-1 series defeat in Sri Lanka last year while Yuvraj has yet to play any Tests.

Kaif led India to victory over England at Lord’s, top-scoring with 87 not out to achieve the target of 326 — the second highest successful run-chase in one-day history.

The 21-year-old scored 174 runs in five innings batting at number seven, being dismissed only twice.

Yuvraj, 20, whose aggressive strokeplay was a highlight of the tournament, piled up 254 runs in seven innings.—Reuters