No reason why I can’t come back again: Yuvraj

June 22, 2012

yuvaraj_singh

Yuvraj Singh is renowned for his fighting spirit when the chips are down. He waged many successful battles and guided the Men in Blue to several scintillating victories and lifted his team-mates’ morale.

Yuvi, who is back after undergoing chemotherapy for a rare tumour, is now on a mission to make a comeback into the Indian team.

His target is to play at the Twenty20 World Cup, starting in Sri Lanka in September.

Yuvraj himself knows it would be a difficult task, but he is willing to fight against all odds.

“I have already been out of the hospital for three months and my body is taking a little bit of time to recover. I am not sure whether I am going to play at the T20 World Cup. All I said was my target is to get fit for the T20 World Cup. Before that I have to play a couple of domestic games,” the 30-year old left hand batsman told reporters on the sidelines of the Indian Property Show at the World Trade Centre here on Thursday.

Yuvarj is in Dubai as the brand ambassador of Investors Clinic, an Indian reality services company, who is participating in the show. The Punjab-based cricketer admitted that fighting cancer was a tough challenge for him.

“Before the World Cup I had a very bad year with injuries. So it was tough on my body. Battling cancer was something, which I really can’t express. It was the toughest period in my life. I can’t really give a timeframe as to when I would be back. I have to work extra hours and let’s see what I can do. I have the will. I’ve come back in the past and there is no reason why can’t I come back again.

He was the man of the tournament in India’s World Cup triumph last year. Yuvraj admitted that he got a lot of inspiration while reading the book of Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times after having survived cancer.

“I read Armstrong’s book ‘It’s not about the bike: My journey back to life’ a couple of years ago and I didn’t complete. May be this is the way I had to come back and read the book again. Lance’s book was definitely an inspiring one. His cancer was much worse than mine and the way he showed the dedication to come back and win the Tour de France seven times in a row was an amazing feat. Rather than a sporting hero he is a real life hero.

“Fight till you die” is what Yuvraj, who had gone through one of his toughest phases in life, has to say to the struggling cricketers.

Later, while speaking to Khaleej Times, he said his Twitter updates regarding his treatment were to enthuse the cancer patients.

“It was not only to avoid speculation regarding my treatment but also for people to understand that people who have been diagnosed with cancer to fight it and be positive about it. I wanted to tell them ‘don’t be shy, don’t be afraid.’ I know it is not an easy thing to go through but just wanted to give a little bit of inspiration to people out there and to be strong about it.

Regarding the support he received from the fans, Yuvraj said: “The support was immense. I think the whole of India was praying. I think I only became better because of their prayers. It is very overwhelming. It is amazing to see how many people love me.



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Agencies
July 31,2020

Hampshire, Jul 31: David Willey's maiden five-wicket haul guided England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland in the first ODI here on Friday.

With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Chasing a small target of 173 runs, England got off to a bad start as opener Jonny Bairstow was given LBW in the third over, bowled by Andy McBrine. Jason Roy was then joined by James Vince and the duo added 22 runs on the board before the former was dismissed.

Craig Young then got hold of Vince, who was caught behind after scoring 25 runs. Sam Billings and Tom Banton then took the charge of the chase but the latter too was caught behind which ended his 11-run innings.

Banton's dismissal brought skipper Eoin Morgan on the field. Billings and Morgan played stunning innings and kept scoring boundaries. Morgan struck a scintillating six on the last bowl of the 28th over to take England over the line. Morgan scored 36 runs while Billings played a knock of 67 runs.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Ireland witnessed a poor start as Paul Stirling was dismissed in the very first over of the innings, bowled by Willey. Andy Balbirnie then joined Gareth Delany but Willey struck again in his next over, removing Balbirnie.

Delany then played furiously and smashed three consecutive boundaries to Saqib Mahmood in the fourth over. However, the fall of wickets did not stop as England took three wickets in quick succession. Mahmood bowled Harry Tector while Delany and Lorcan Tucker were sent back to the pavilion by Willey.

Kevin O'Brien and Curtis Campher then took the charge and played cautiously, taking their struggling side over the 50-run mark. Adil Rashid got hold of O'Brien (22) in the 22nd over before Simranjit Singh was run out in the same over.

Andy McBrine was the next batsman and he played brilliantly along with Campher, who went on to complete his half-century. Both formed a 66-run partnership before McBrine (40) was dismissed by Tom Curran.

Campher remained unbeaten on 59 but failed to find a partner as England bundled out Ireland on 172 runs.

The second ODI between both teams will be played on Saturday.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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