'My son is lion of Punjab; he will do India proud'
Monday, October 08, 2007
Yograj Singh says till Yuvraj scores 10,000 runs, there will not be any talk of his marriage
MUMBAI: Yuvraj Singh may have hit six sixes in an over. Yuvraj Singh may have a cracked a magnificent century against the Australians.
Yuvraj Singh, on current form, may be the best batsman in the Indian team. But his father Yograj Singh believes this is just a trailer to what one might see in the future.
"I think the best of Yuvi is yet to come. I don't think he is in the best form of his life," says the dotting dad. "I will only say that when he starts to win matches for India single-handedly and does that consistently and not once in a while."
To understand such expectations, one needs to understand the man behind the 'mission' called 'Yuvraj'.
Yograj Singh, a former international cricketer himself (he played one Test and six ODIs for), is a controversial figure. He has been sentenced to jail for rash driving causing an accident which injured a person and has been accused of abetting crime in Jessica Lal murder case. He was alleged to have helped the main accused to flee.
He is also a man with immense fortitude. Having faced rejection and failure in cricket, a game that he loved all his life, Yograj is focussed on making Yuvraj the star he could not be.
"You must understand how intense an experience this has been for me. It was like going on a mission for me. During my playing career and even after that, I have gone through a lot of hardships. And it was my mission to see my son succeed in international cricket, where I could not.
It was all about the pain I felt, my inner self was yearning to fight back for the honour of my family," says an emotional Yograj.
"My heart still bleeds every time I think about all that happened to me in international cricket. But we are a family of lions. We don't give up easily. I am so happy that till now I have been successful in my mission. And God has been kind to me. I have been blessed with a gem for a son. He has done me and my family proud. And through cricket, which was my life, he has given me back that honour."
However, it is believed in certain circles that the father and son don't share as harmonious a relationship as Yograj makes it out to be. Yograj and his wife Shabnam (Yuvraj's mother) divorced and since then the father-son duo have been said to have an acrimonious relationship.
Yet the two were seen hugging in the stands in Chandigarh where Yograj had come to greet his son.
"When I met him on Saturday, I gave him a bouquet of 21 roses and my blessings, which I think is the best gift ever," said Yograj. "We share a great rapport and talk often about his cricket.
He discusses where he thought he went wrong and asks me how he can improve his game. But we only talk about cricket all the time. It's is probably because cricket is the most important part of both our lives."
Interestingly, Yograj didn't watch Yuvraj hit those sixes. "I never watch his matches but soon after I spoke to him."
Have the father and son ever bonded and discussed personal problems. "If you mean the girl in his life, then let me tell you till he doesn't score 10,000 runs in both forms of the game, there is going to be no talk of any marriage. Full stop."
Sigh! It's a long wait girls.
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