MUMBAI: Khaate peete ghar ka lagta hai (Looks like he comes from a prosperous family). Till a month ago, if you walked to any chowk and overheard a conversation on cricket, that's what you would have perceived about Yuvraj Singh. (Read: Yograj credits son's success to God ) ( Read: Favourite 'kadhi chawal' awaits Yuvi )
Yuvraj? 36" waistline, under-arm biceps, paunch.World Cup haath se gaya bhaiyya (The World Cup is already gone). It looked like a terrible decision when he was selected to play the World Cup. His form had touched its lowest ebb yet. Less than 1,300 runs in 47 one-day innings and one injury after the other seemed like the beginning of a national crisis. The fielder in him too looked lost in the woods. He was also supposed to be supercilious, almost faking his way into the team and He was living on reputation alone.
Yuvraj was finished, wasn't he? "He used to come home, go to bed and suddenly get up in the middle of the night. He couldn't get a grip on what was happening around him. Overnight he went from being one of the nation's best batsmen to one who was struggling to find a place in the team. It had to be his worst year as a cricketer," says Shabnam, Yuvraj's mother. She couldn't understand what fans, media, experts and those who were not so expert wanted from him. "I don't know what people expected from him."
In India, where national and regional politics, the movie industry, information technology and art and culture sell like nobody's business, cricket tops the list.
Yuvraj couldn't understand why his two fifties in 14 innings in 2010 and a batting average of 31.73 were not cutting any ice with selectors. "It came like a jolt when I was dropped," he now admits. During this phase, a reporter called Yuvraj's father to ask him what was going wrong with his son's cricket. "Mera bachcha sher hai lad ke wapas aayega" (My son is a tiger, he'll fight back), said a confident Yograj Singh.
As his career hit an all-time low, there were reports suggesting that had started contemplating quitting the game. Thankfully, he shrugged them off. "I would like to thank my parents and my gurus (Guru Ram Singh and Guru Ajit Singh) and my friends," says Yuvraj.
Yuvraj is a religious man and if he has respect for certain people, it remains that way. Parents and gurus, friends and family members and one Sachin Tendulkar form the crux of those certain people. In fact, Tendulkar is the 'special person' for whom he famously declared, after India's quarterfinal victory against Australia, that he wanted to do well in this World Cup. "But this win is not just for Sachin or any team member alone. This is for all of us and the nation. We fought like champions and won the Cup. And we're very proud of it," he says.
To many Yuvraj may come across as arrogant, brawny and egotistic even. Those close to him say these are traits that make the myth, not the man. When he says, for instance, "Our nation had been waiting for this moment for long and we're glad we've achieved it" those who know him well insist how much this means to him.
As his mother puts it "He was challenged and he fought back." In the process, he not just changed the way people think of him but simply made them stand up and clap in awe.
Khaate peete ghar ke ladke ne World Cup jeeta diya! The boy from the prosperous background wonIndia the World Cup.
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