Disappointed but it's not in my hands - Yuvraj

Yuvraj Singh has reacted to being dropped for the Australia series with "disappointment", pointing to his most recent performances for India when he scored a century and a fifty in a tour game and a Test in Sri Lanka.

He was in Patiala, playing in an invitational tournament, when news of his being dropped reached him. "I am disappointed. Disappointments are a part of my life these days... "

Asked whether it was a lack of form that had led to him being omitted from the Test team, Yuvraj referred to the Sri Lanka tour. "If that's not good enough for selection, I can't say. Selection is not in my hands." He showed a flash of humour, though, when asked what he would do if he couldn't regain his place in the team. "If I keep getting dropped, maybe I'll have to do something different,". he said.

Yuvraj's exclusion comes after a period in which he has grappled with injury and loss of form. It has been more than year since he scored his last century for India in a full international, a fact which, he told ESPNcricinfo, bothers him. "It has been the toughest year, in terms of managing my body and my performances," he said in a wide-ranging conversation with this reporter a few days before Monday's squad selection. "I've been injured a lot, which is mentally very hard."

Three fractures of his hand, a cartilage tear in the wrist, neck strains and dengue fever have made his tenth season in international cricket most forgettable. In the past year he averaged 33 in six Tests and 23 in 15 ODIs, "It's just very sad because it's all come at a time when batsmen peak - you're supposed to hit your best form at 28 or 29," he said.

Following a disappointing World Twenty20 in the West Indies, where he scored 74 runs in five matches, Yuvraj was dropped for the Asia Cup but returned to the side for the tour of Sri Lanka with three Tests and an ODI tri-series. The tour included what Yuvraj calls the "hardest part" of his year.

In the first Test, he scored 52 and 5 in Galle, before missing the second with fever. He was declared fit to play in the third but was passed over from the final Xi in favour of Suresh Raina, the debut centurion of the second Test. "The roughest part (this year) was in Sri Lanka," he said. "I scored a century in the tour game and fifty in the first Test before I fell sick and then didn't get picked for the third Test."

Was his omission from the third Test, and the decision to pick Raina, explained to him? "If somebody wants to give me an explanation, they can come and give me an explanation. Neither was I given one, nor did I seek an explanation. It's not in my hands to be picked or not to be picked. If the team wants me, I'm there. If they don't want me, I'm happy to serve the drinks."

Despite the setbacks, he sounded bullish on the future. "I have managed to be strong.. I'm sure things are going to come good soon It's time to really push the pedal and hit peak performance." His time starts on October 1 - not in Mohali, where India and Australia play the first Test, but in Jaipur, leading the Rest of India against Mumbai in the Irani Cup.