India is yet to finalize their squad for the World Cup as their are some injury concerns.
During his 18-year-long career, Yuvraj was part of several iconic Indian sides – be it the early 2000s under Ganguly, the mid-2000s under Rahul Dravid, or the one in the 2010s under MS Dhoni. He was part of the Indian team which played two World Cup finals in 2003 and 2011.
He was the Player of the Tournament in India’s 2011 World Cup win hammering 362 runs in 8 innings, and picking up crucial wickets as well, including a fifer.
While talking about India’s chances in the upcoming World Cup at home, which begins on October 5, his prime concern is India's middle order, which has been chopped and changed far too much. With injuries to KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, India has had no option but to rely on Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson, who are yet to ace the one-day game.
Unless Shreyas and KL Rahul come back from their injuries and are in form, Yuvraj is not too optimistic about India's chances at the World Cup.
“I can be a patriot and say 'India will win because I am an Indian.' But I see a lot of concerns in the Indian middle order because of injuries. If those concerns are not resolved, we will struggle, especially in pressure games. Don't experiment in pressure games.
The skill work to bat in the middle order is very different from that of an opener. Is there anybody there (in the team management) who is working around the guys who will be playing in the middle order? That's the question mark – the middle order is not ready, so someone will have to make them ready," Yuvraj said on the Cricket Basu YouTube channel.
India is yet to finalize their World Cup squad and doesn’t even have a settled playing XI. Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma have their task cut out as they are currently dependent on players who might not make it into the final squad.
Between Virat Kohli stabilizing the innings at no.3 and finishing prowess of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja down the order, Yuvraj believes India needs anchors who play a crucial role in ODIs.
"If your openers are out early, you need to build a partnership. (Middle order) batsmen are not simply flamboyant stroke-makers that occupy the crease and start hitting. He has to absorb pressure, leave a few balls, and create a partnership. It's a difficult job, somebody has to be experienced over there," he added.