When I Met Yuvraj Singh

A few days ago, as a part of an initiative by the Art of Living, I got the opportunity to meet Yuvraj Singh, or as we know him, Yuvi.

I was very excited to meet the amazing all rounder, and dressed up in a Team India t-shirt, which I usually wear when the men in blue are playing an important match. As I logged in to the Zoom Platform, I wondered what it would be like to meet Yuvi in person, because all of us connect with him , are fond of seeing him play cricket and often get lost in his ease and effortlessness.

It was a fun and interactive session- Yuvi shared a lot of behind-the-scenes incidents with us. He told us about how he had not washed his hands for long after he shook it with his hero, Sachin Tendulkar, as a young boy. At the same time, he also emphasised on the importance of hygiene, especially at a time like this. He told us about his dream-like journey from that handshake with Sachin to playing alongside his idol.

It was surprising to know that he, in his childhood, enjoyed games like Table Tennis and Basketball more than cricket and how his father motivated him to take up the sport as a profession. When asked what profession he would have taken up if not cricket, he shared that he would have been a sportsperson in another sport or a “struggling model”, because he was not very good at his studies.

He also shared with us the harmless pranks he played on his teammates, with his partner-in-crime, Harbhajan Singh, who he lovingly refers to as ‘Bhajji’. When asked who the funniest Indian cricketer was, he replied with a smile and said, “He is sitting right in front of you!” We then played a few games with him, to test his memory about his own career- and, let me tell you, he has a very, very sharp brain- he did not get even one answer wrong! Another game was played, and he was asked to say the first word that came to his mind when he heard a name. He described Sachin Tendulkar as ‘God’, Virat Kohli as ‘sensational’ and himself as ‘not bad’. All of us smiled at his humility.

He ,then, told us how the Art of Living had helped him overcome injuries and setbacks in his career and how he believed that it was very important to do yoga and meditation.

Yuvraj Singh might be retired from cricket, but he is yet to play another inning in his life. He dreams of funding the treatment of as many young cancer patients as possible through his foundation ‘YouWeCan’ and also of providing scholarships to cancer survivors. He shared that he would love to coach the young cricketers of our country, and bid us goodbye with the heartwarming message of giving back to the society.