I liked to be portrayed as a fighter, says Yuvraj Singh

06/15/2017

Yuvraj Singh played his debut game in 2000 at the age of 19 and during this 17-year long career so far, has he faced many up and downs and even survived cancer. Over the years, Yuvraj has been portrayed a fighter, both on and off the field and he acknowledged that he liked that image.

Having played a starring role in leading India to the 2011 ICC World Cup title, Yuvraj was diagnosed with cancer soon after and left for the USA to seek treatment for the same. However, the southpaw conquered his biggest challenge and made a phenomenal return to the Indian squad. Yuvraj's return speaks volumes about his ability to fight adversity and he has every reason to be proud of his reputation as a real-life hero.

"I did like to be portrayed as a fighter. A lot of people can actually get inspired not to give up in their life. Cancer is something which I always talk (about). A lot of people think there's stigma with cancer. So I can motivate a lot of people to come out of it, and to come back to where they belong", Yuvraj said in an interview with Cricinfo.

Not only has Yuvraj made his comeback to the international fold, today's ICC Champions Trophy semi-final between India and Bangladesh will be his 300th ODI. In 299 ODI's so far he has scored 8622 runs at an average of 36.84. And speaking of his latest landmark the hard-hitting Punjab batsman said, "I don't know about (being) the role model, but it's a big achievement for me to finish 300 games in my career."

"It is huge honour. When I started playing for India I was happy just playing one game for India. That would have been a big achievement for me, but it's come a long way. There have been ups and downs, and I am proud of myself. I have come through and still managed to get to 300. At one stage I was thinking if I was going to play another game."

Yuvraj was an integral part of India's 2011 World Cup winning side as he scored 362 runs at an average of 90.50 and took 15 wickets which helped him become the Player of the Tournament. Therefore, it's no surprise that he mentioned his innings against Australia as one of his best efforts. "Definitely the 2011 World Cup quarter-finals against Australia. My debut game against Australia. Natwest final in 2002."

Moreover, India is a country where people love cricket more than any other sport. Therefore, the expectations of the fans are very high and it takes a lot to step up to them on a regular basis. However, the 35-year-old feels that self-belief plays a key role in full fulfilling these expectations consistently.

"To play for India is not that difficult, but to sustain it is tough. You need to have the determination to never give up and believe in yourself. Self-belief is very important because when things are not going well for you, other people have their own opinion. So at that time, it's very important to believe in yourself, that you've done it in the past, and now is the time you can do it again."

I liked to be portrayed as a fighter, says Yuvraj Singh

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