New Delhi: Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar feels "sorry" for Yuvraj Singh, who has been ignored by the selectors yet again, but said that he was "not surprised" at elegant left-hander's exclusion once he was not picked for this year's ICC cricket World Cup.
India are struggling to slot an experienced batsman at number five, six or seven who can soak in pressure and do the finishing job. Yuvraj, who has just played a knock of 187 in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, is an option for selectors but they chose to ignore him.
Asked if he was surprised by the selectors' decision, Gavaskar said, "not really". "Yuvraj had been given the signal when he was left out of the 2015 World Cup squad. They showed that they are going to look ahead. But yes after his performance in Ranji there was hope that he may be recalled.
My personal view is that pick the best combination which has youth and experience. We don't have anyone at number five and Yuvraj could have provided (experience). You can't call Suresh Raina inexperienced who is been around for 10 years but Yuvraj makes a big difference and I feel sorry for him. I don't think he has that opportunity for one last fling at glory," Gavaskar told NDTV.
Gavaskar said India must strive to win the series otherwise playing South Africa in the Test series will become more difficult. India lost the T20 series and trail the ODI series 1-2.
"Priority should be to win the series. This South African attack with the red ball will be a different cup of tea. If India win ODI series, it might affect the confidence of South Africa little bit. Yes, have a look at the results. Matches were close, margins were not overwhelming. If they win one game and that they will have confidence of winning two also," he said.
He also said the Indian players "don't know what their job is" as Ajinkya Rahane was dropped down to number six after scoring two fifties at number three.
Talking about possibility of a Indo-Pak series, Gavaskar felt that the situation needs to improve for that to happen. "You need somebody to calm it down a bit then have a look at the resumption of series," he said.
