Considered to be one of the greatest-ever limited-overs batsmen, Yuvraj Singh was a prolific cricketer. The left-hander was indeed the best No. 4 for India in ODI cricket. The former all-rounder played numerous memorable innings in his glorious career. He was the key member of the Indian team in the 2011 World Cup.
Despite seeing plenty of success, Yuvraj did go through the darkest phase of his life when he was diagnosed with cancer. No wonder, it affected Yuvi’s professional career as well. But there was one cricketer who helped the Chandigarh-born during his struggling days, and it was none other than the iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
While speaking to Sportskeeda, Yuvraj recalled the conversations he had with Tendulkar, which helped the Punjabi cricketer to make a comeback in the national side.
The left-handed batsman revealed how Tendulkar inspired him to not think about playing in the domestic circuit if he loves this sport.
“There were a few ups and downs. I kept on speaking to Sachin, and he said, ‘Why do we play cricket? Yes, we want to play international, but we play for the love of the sport. If you love the game, you want to play,” said Yuvraj.
Yuvraj further stated that he was thinking about retiring from cricket during that time. Still, Tendulkar motivated him to continue playing and also told the Punjab lad that the retirement decision should be his own choice.
“Sachin said, ‘If I was in the situation, I wouldn’t know what to do, but if you love the game, you still play the game and decide when you want to retire. People should not decide that for you,” the 38-year-old added.
“So I had some good chats with him and played 3-4 years of domestic cricket. I was in and out of the Indian team, played the T20 World Cup. I made a few comebacks, but it was time to move on because my body was not the same after cancer,” Yuvraj added further.
