Yuvraj Singh opened up recently on his battle with cancer in a podcast with former England cricketer Michael Vaughan. During his interaction, the former India cricketer recalled that the doctor had told him that he had only three to six months left to live. Yuvraj had won the player of the tournament award at the 2011 World Cup, which India won, and was at the peak of his career then.
Moreover, a spot in the Indian team had also opened up when Sourav Ganguly announced his retirement. Yuvraj was desperate to play Tests for India at the time and didn’t want to leave the chance but this is when his doctor, Nitesh Rohatgi, interevened and told that he had only 3-6 months left to live without chemotherapy.
“It was hard to accept. At the peak of your career, you’re on top of a mountain and then you fall into a ditch. I was in Delhi. We were going on tour to the West Indies and England. Ganguly had retired and my Test spot had just opened. I was waiting seven years for that spot. I said, ‘I don’t care if I die, I need that spot.’ But I got sicker and sicker.
“Dr Nitesh Rohatgi said to me, ‘The tumour is sitting between your heart and lung. Either you go and play cricket or you might have a heart attack. You’ve got three to six months left to live if you don’t do chemotherapy.’ That’s when I realised I needed to think,” Yuvraj said while speaking to Michael Vaughan in his podcast.
If I don’t play cricket, who am I?
Yuvraj Singh moved to the USA for treatment, where he realised that he might never play cricket again. Recalling the days, the southpaw stated that it took a whole year for him to come to terms with the reality of not playing the sport again. However, the fighter that he was, Yuvraj Singh returned to the Indian team by regaining fitness and also played the T20 World Cup in 2014.
“I went to the US to see Dr Einhorn, who treated Lance Armstrong. It took a whole year to come to terms with the fact that I might never play again. Mentally, it was harder. I needed something to motivate myself. If I don’t play cricket, who am I? I’m no one. That’s what I believed,” Yuvraj added.
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