Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has revealed that his doctor told him he had only three to six months left to live if he did not start chemotherapy immediately, in the weeks after India’s 2011 World Cup triumph.
The former player disclosed on The Overlap Cricket podcast, walking through the moment he understood how serious his condition had become. Yuvraj had played the 2011 World Cup through pain, won the Player of the Tournament award, and was still chasing the Test spot that opened up after Sourav Ganguly’s retirement.
“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,” Yuvraj said.
He then recalled the exact conversation with his oncologist in Delhi.
“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,” he recalled.
Yuvraj flew to Indianapolis to be treated by Dr Lawrence Einhorn, the same oncologist who had treated cyclist Lance Armstrong in 1996. He said the psychological battle proved harder than the treatment, recounting visits from two senior India teammates during treatment.
“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. I kept watching old videos. Anil Kumble came to America, shut my laptop, and said, ‘Focus on your health, stop watching cricket videos.’ Sachin came to see me in England,” he added.
Yuvraj returned to the India squad for the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka within six months of completing treatment, picking up a Man of the Match award during the tournament, and later trained with Zaheer Khan in Brive, France, on the way back to full fitness.
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