Zeenews Sport Bureau
New Delhi: On the eve of Team India’s victorious World Cup campaign anniversary, India’s star player Yuvraj Singh shared his thoughts and memories related to the World Cup in a video.
Currently recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, the man of the tournament in the 2011 cricket World Cup spoke at length about the best moment of his life.
Click here to watch the video »
As India complete the first anniversary of the World Cup triumph, Yuvraj described the feat as a "cherished and special moment".
"All you can remember is flying colours of the flag, Wankhede stadium (the host of the World Cup final) in joy and an Indian dream coming to reality. It was a great moment in history because winning the World Cup was everything to us and especially to do it for Sachin Tendulkar," he recollects in the video.
"I remember I have a picture of me and Tendulkar together which I have put in my locker. I used to have a look at that picture and go into bat. He is my inspiration," Yuvraj said.
"Zaheer Khan also told me in Bangladesh before the World Cup about me doing something special in the World Cup. That time I was going through a bad wrist injury," he added.
"It (World Cup triumph) will always be a very special memory for me and all the Indians. It is a cherished memory which we will always keep in our hearts."
Post World Cup, Yuvraj went through the toughest phase of his life after he was diagnosed with cancer. But he is now recovering from fatal disease after having discharged from the hospital in Indianapolis in the US on March 18 following the completion of the third and final cycle of chemotherapy.
"It (World Cup) did change everybody's life. I didn't expect that I would land up here after the World Cup but that's life," he said.
"I was at the peak of my career when I was diagnosed with cancer, but now I am treated and absolutely fine. I am thankful to my guruji, my mother. It has been a tough journey but I am lucky that the cancer was detected at an early stage and I got cured. Now I just want to live my life like a normal person, just want to celebrate life," he said.
Yuvraj also thanked his fans for standing behind him in such a difficult phase of his life and said he is now raring to return to the ground.
"I can't thank everyone enough for all the prayers and wishes. I have been watching everyone praying across the cities back home for me. The support has been amazing, I couldn't have asked for more. I actually realised how loved I am," he said.
"I just want to tell all that I am good and will be back to normal health soon. I am looking forward to playing for India again."
(With PTI inputs)
First Published: Sunday, April 01, 2012, 19:12