Yuvi : Cricket helped me beat cancer

Not many elite sportsmen struck down in their prime by cancer recover sufficiently to return to the highest level, but Yuvraj Singh is one of them, rejoining India’s Test team just eight months after finishing his treatment in the United States. It is an incredible story. Eighteen months ago Yuvraj’s life was about as good as it gets, even in the glittering world of Indian cricket. Player of the tournament in the 2011 World Cup, a trophy India won at home in front of its adoring fans, and with Bollywood starlets queuing to be squired by him, he appeared to have it all and then some, all before the age of 30. Then cancer struck and that world came crashing down, to be replaced by one where even fundamental things like drinking and breathing could not be taken for granted as he embarked upon the rough, uncertain road of recovery. “There was a time where I couldn’t drink a basic thing like water,” Yuvraj said. “For almost three months during my chemo I couldn’t drink water. My body used to crave it and the moment I used to drink it I would throw up. So coming back from there I know the value of small things like breathing with both lungs, because for a very long time I didn’t do that.” Being talented at cricket can prepare you for many of life’s trials, but this was on a primal level with survival at stake. When that happens, old perspectives cannot hope to remain in place as pain signifies both good and bad. “It was really tough,” Yuvraj said. “After getting the World Cup man of the series I was really confident of taking the next step in my career. But then life had something else stored for me. When you hear the word cancer, for the first time you really get scared. Cancer. It is like a death sentence. You become really unsure where your life will take you. “Obviously it started with a state of panic, though I was more concerned about my family, my mother and my friends as I could see how this affected them. So I had to stop the panic and take control of the situation. There were some good days and some really bad days, with the bad outnumbering the good to start with. But I tried to fight it while the people around me tried their best to keep things as normal and positive as possible, which helped.” Apart from his fine array of languid strokes, Yuvraj’s forte as a cricketer is his fearlessness in the face of the mounting pressure a one-day run chase can bring. But is a mind adept at coping with that challenge necessarily an asset when dealing with something as potentially fatal as germ cell carcinoma, the rare cancer he suffered from? “Cricket is a great game, it teaches you so much about life. I drew lot of inspiration from my cricketing career. I treated it as one bad session or one bad day in Test cricket where you have to fight hard to recover. While going through the treatment I used to watch my old videos and that really used to inspire me. “I always believed that if I get my life back I would get my cricket back because that is deep-rooted in me. There were times I got depressed with the pain and what all my body was going through, but I was determined to wear that jersey once again. The side-effects of chemo made me reel on my knees some days. But I was determined to come back and play for my country. That’s the one thing which always motivated me.” Many have already made Yuvraj man of the series against England, just for being there. “What I have gone through changes your perspective about a lot. I’m much calmer and patient about things. I know the value of life and understand beyond a point your destiny is not in your hands. I would like to control as much as I can by preparing well and giving my best, but I won’t worry too much about the result.” From Gulfnews