Defending the national selectors’ decision to include Yuvraj Singh (who only recently recovered from a lung tumour) in the squad for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 2012, team India’s vice-captain Virat Kohli claimed that the star all-rounder deserved a chance to play for the country if he was physically and mentally strong enough.
“I don't think it is an emotional decision. If he says he is confident and fit, then he should be given the chance. It should be a perfect comeback for him,” said Kohli.
“The first match after comeback always makes one nervous. If he performs well in the World Cup, it will be a big boost for Team India. For us, the World Cup is an important tournament,” the young right-hander added.
Yuvraj’s inclusion in the squad for the ICC Word T20 would normally have been a given – the 30-year-old, in addition to being a veteran of 274 ODIs (8051 runs) and 118 T20s (2726 runs), was declared Player of the Tournament during India’s 2011 World Cup triumph.
However, health concerns arose for the southpaw during the World Cup, which saw him suffering nausea, breathing difficulties, and coughing up blood. Following a Test series against the West Indies in November last year, he was diagnosed with mediastinal seminoma, a rare form of germ-cell cancer, with a tumour having been detected in between his lungs.
The left-hander underwent treatment in the United States in January this year, involving 3 sessions of chemotherapy, and returned to India in April, amid speculation regarding his return to cricket. Initially reluctant to set a time-frame for when he intended to return to the game, Yuvraj later started fitness training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, in a bid to regain his fitness and ease back into the sport.
He expressed his interest in playing for India during the 2012 World T20, and claimed he wished to participate in the 2-match T20I series against New Zealand (due to be played on September 8 and 11) in a bid to gain some match practice prior to the mega event in Sri Lanka this September.
Following a careful examination of his fitness reports from the NCA, the Indian selection committee named Yuvraj in the 15-man squads for both the T20 series against the Kiwis, and the World T20 – a move which has been the source of much debate, with some (among them Sourav Ganguly) terming it an emotional decision.
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