Yuvraj wants to resurrect Test career

Yuvraj Singh scored a half-century in his last Test

Yuvraj Singh, the India batsman, has said this is the right time to focus on his Test career as he is finally injury-free after a three-month break following the broken finger he sustained in England. He has played just two competitive games since he was hit on the left index finger by Tim Bresnan during the Nottingham Test, and returns to the India squad for the home Test series against West Indies. Yuvraj, who has not enjoyed the same success in the longer format as he has in ODIs, said he wanted to rejuvenate his Test career.

"It's the right time to focus on my Test career," he told PTI. "I want to be remembered as a good batsman in the longer format of the game. I have always tried to give my best shot whenever on the field but unfortunately injury issues were there. In the upcoming series against West Indies and Australia, I want to score big and make a mark in the Test format. I want to restructure my Test career and I'll raise the bar this time."

The 35 Tests Yuvraj has featured in have been played over eight years. For a large part of his career, he was kept out of the Test side by a strong middle order that included Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Once Ganguly retired, he was given an extended run in the side but couldn't cement his place. He fell ill before the second Test in Sri Lanka in 2010, and a century from Suresh Raina on debut in that game meant Yuvraj was once again relegated to the sidelines. His Man-of-the-Series performance in the 2011 World Cup put him back in contention for a Test place, but an injury kept him out of the tour to the West Indies and his series in England was cut short by the finger injury.

Yuvraj said his Test career had been blighted by the number of injuries he has had but he still had time to change things. "My best years are yet to come. After a long injury layoff, I am fully fit and raring to go. My career has been marred by a lot of injury issues but I think it's on the right path now. After coming back from England, I trained hard. My body has taken a beating in the past year but there are no more injuries now."

The first Test between India and West Indies starts on November 6 in Delhi, and Yuvraj could be in a contest with Virat Kohli for a place in India's middle order.