Calcutta: Yuvraj Singh has never had it so good. Not in recent years, at least.

First, vice-captain Virender Sehwag called him a “jewel for India.” That was on Wednesday. Then, on Saturday, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni actually made him look indispensable.

“Of course, we will miss him (Yuvraj, in the Asia Cup)... The way he bats, hardly any batsman can in that manner...”

More followed, at a media conference in Chennai, before Team India’s departure for Sri Lanka.

“The kind of talent Yuvraj is, I don’t think it will be difficult for him to come back. I am hoping he will be back as soon as possible. I am a big fan of Yuvraj and it is a pleasure to have him in the side. He is one of the best batsmen in the world...”

All that from a captain who was present during the June 7 selection committee meeting in New Delhi when the 28-year-old Yuvraj was dropped for the tournament!

It’s not known whether Dhoni’s comments came as a pleasant surprise for Yuvraj, but one of the selectors was definitely caught off guard when The Telegraph spoke to him soon after the report landed.

“Did Dhoni say that? All of us know that Yuvraj is talented, it’s just that he’d begun to take his place for granted and we needed to send a strong message — ‘pull up your socks’... We realise that we’ll be requiring Yuvraj in the (2011) World Cup, but he needs to get fitter and fight his way back,” the selector maintained.

Indeed, the question being asked is simple: If Dhoni felt so strongly about Yuvraj being omitted, then why did he not press for his one-time deputy’s inclusion in the XV for the Asia Cup?

Nobody is allowed to reveal what transpires at selection committee meetings and, so, what exactly happened probably won’t ever be known.

As for Yuvraj, such public support from two of the biggest names in Indian cricket is bound to ease some of the pain caused by being dropped for a 50-over tournament — once his forte.