After knocking cancer out of the park, the feisty Indian all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh has come out stronger and how! The 34-year-old whose team India Red just won a match at the Duleep Trophy is on a professional roll. But personally he is doing something more important.
Speaking to the Humans of Bombay, Singh credited his father for pushing him into the field of cricket and helping him focus on the sport; something he plans to do for 25 kids whose parents are unable to support them.
How his journey began...
The recently engaged Singh (to actor Hazel Keech), starts off by revealing how he became a cricketer.
“Most of my childhood was spent outdoors - either playing cricket, football, tennis or skating. I wasn’t very good at studies, as soon as the school bell rang, I would be out on the field until dinner time! My tryst with full time cricket began in a funny way — I won the gold medal in only one sport when I was around 10 years old and that was in skating! My father sat me down that day and said, ‘I understand you can’t study but if you love sports so much at least take one that can get you somewhere…focus on cricket.’ That’s how it all started," he says.
His struggles had just started
Even though he started to focus on the game, he didn't quite make it for the longest time, often doing odd jobs in the process.
"Even while growing up there were struggles — I didn’t get selected at the under 14 trials in Haryana, but at every step of the way I pushed harder towards the one goal that I wanted to dedicate my life towards…playing for India. I still remember, my first real ‘job’ was playing for Air India’s corporate team and my stipend for the whole month was 500 Rupees given by Punjab Communications," he shares.
But finally luck shone on him
The real turning point, he says was the Under 19 World Cup.
"I performed better than ever before. I remember at that point, I would watch Tendulkar and Ganguly on my television set and know on every fibre of my being that someday I would be out there playing with them— I felt it, I knew it; I believed it. In 2000 I got the opportunity to play my first International game with these big guns," he says.
"I can’t describe that experience — in my head, I was still the little boy from Chandigarh running around on the field, muddy, breaking windows with my shots but when I looked around I saw my heroes — Tendulkar, Ganguly, Kumble on the field with me," he added.
Continue reading to see how he is playing dad to 25 children whose parents are unable to support their dreams!
Singh then goes on to narrate how this journey of his has been a blessed one.
A blessed journey
"The journey has been tremendous. Whether it was hitting 6 sixes, or winning the 2011 World Cup, these are special moments which very few people in the world have the privilege of experiencing and that’s what I’ve always felt while playing for my country — privileged. Of course, there have been downs as well — one cannot always live upto the expectations where a nation of 1.2 billion people wants you to win every single game," he says.
Cancer brought him down, but just for a while
In the inspirational narration, Singh shares how he beat cancer and came out stronger than ever.
"More than that, nothing could have been worse than having to give up something you love —and I had to get out of the game for many months because of my battle with cancer. At first I was in denial about it — playing for India was more important than my health and for a few months I chose to ignore the blood I spat out or my decline in stamina," he says.
But all this did not deter this all-rounder. With family and friends by his side, he understood that he could beat it.
"It’s only once I accepted cancer that I could beat it. When life knocks down you have a choice — to get up. So I thought to myself -‘get up and do it again’. I came back within 3 months of my treatment, only because I wasn’t done with cricket — I don’t think I’ll ever be done with it," he says.
It was after this incident that he founded the YouWeCan Foundation and decided to help others who were going through the same medical condition as his.
Yuvi, the father figure
"I believe that I had to go through it to have a larger purpose. God has been kind enough to give me everything and the only way forward is to give back. I’m constantly looking for ways to push this cause and through YWCFashion, I’m looking to enter a different avenue and make the fight against cancer even stronger," he says.
"Today, I sponsor the entire education of 25 kids who’s parents don’t have the funds. When I met them and they told me about their ambitions, I knew that this is what I want to continue doing— give back and help them make a ‘come back’, just like I did,” he says, as he describes his new role as a father figure to these kids.
Well, he may not be a father yet, but he is as determined to improve the lives of these kids and to make sure that their dreams are fulfiled just as his own father did! This is certainly a befitting tribute to his father.
Read: How fatherhood changes a man, according to science
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(Image courtesy: Cricwizz)
