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Yuvraj Singh hopes to be back for World T20 2012. posted under: India | All news |
 Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, is ready to start playing for his country again and hopes to be back in time for the ICC World T20 in September.
Yuvraj, who has played 37 tests, more than 250 ODIs and 23 T20 Internationals, was diagnosed with lung cancer in November last year and hasn’t played since. He was being treated with chemotherapy in the United States and has returned to India to continue his rehabilitation.
The Player Of The Tournament in last year’s ICC World Cup, Yuvraj Singh has made his mark in the Inaugural ICC World T20 in 2007 as well, hitting 6 sixes in an over against Stuart Broad of England. So this would be a picture perfect comeback for him, but he has said it’s going to be difficult for him because of all the stress and everything he has been through.
He was quoted saying: “Playing for India is going to be a huge challenge for me because the body has been under a lot of shock which nobody can understand except me.
“Only a cancer patient can understand what he is going through. So it's going to be a big challenge for me to come back and play for India again.”
When asked for a specific date as to when the team and fans could expect his return, he said he didn’t want to rush back and said he’d play only after he was perfectly fit.
“Well I can't really give a time-frame but I have to see how my body is recovering and how fast I can come on the field. Actually I don't want to rush and I don't want to come back at 75 per cent fitness.
“I might take six months, I might take two months. So I don't know. But the day I feel 100 per cent I surely will be back,” he said.
The cricketer said that this year at the World T20 in Sri Lanka, which starts in mid-September, India would be a formidable opponent and would give other nations a tough competition and hinted that he might be available for selection.
He was quoted saying: “I think (the) favorites are India because we've got the biggest hitters - biggest hitters in town that's what I want to say. Hopefully I should be back by then.
“I'm not saying I'm the reason, it's just that I feel we have the strongest side and if we can sort out our bowling in T20s I'm sure we can be a strong unit. There are other strong teams like Australia, South Africa which always compete at the top level at world events.”
Later, he spoke about his health, how he was dealing with it and the condition he was in. “I'm feeling good. It's been two months since I finished my chemotherapy. Initially my energy levels were low but now I am following my diet and eating loads of food and it's getting better in recovery.
“I've done six or seven sessions of very light training and light yoga. I'm just getting back into the groove of being a normal person, breathe normally, which is a lot of excitement and fun for me at the moment,” he added.
The cricketer also spoke about his emotional battle with cancer. He thanked the team and his fans for the incredible support they had given him and justified sharing his journey with the world on twitter.
“Initially it was hard to accept that a guy like me who is training six to seven hours a day, running around all the time as an athlete, can get diagnosed with something like this. It took a long time to sink in but eventually I made peace with it. I knew I have an issue and I have to sort it out.
“The support was overwhelming, especially from India. One of the students from a college in Indianapolis came to see me and I felt like I was in India. I just want to thank everybody for their support and for their care. I went through chemotherapy which is hard for everybody but the wishes and the love is what made me come back. There was a lot of speculation on what cancer I had, what had been going on, so I just want to keep everybody in the loop by saying this is what is happening and this is how my treatment is being done and I'm being positive. I just want to spread the message to other people who are diagnosed with such a disease that they can also fight it with the support of their family and their loved ones,” he said.
His comeback will surely be an emotional one for him as well as his fans, and once he’s 100%, there is no doubt that this strong cricketer will get back to his dominating ways. |
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