Yuvraj's next innings
Fans don’t accept failure, won’t tolerate heroes having frailties they themselves have, writes Rohit Mahajan in the Outlook magazine
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Fans don’t accept failure, won’t tolerate heroes having frailties they themselves have, writes Rohit Mahajan in the Outlook magazine. But illness doesn’t discriminate. Yuvraj Singh, the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup, is currently undergoing treatment for cancer in the United States. But, as Mahajan writes, Yuvraj is focused not merely on getting well, but on getting back on the field. Having gone through this difficult phase, he’s also recognised the good he could do by working on cancer awareness.
“That’s a wonderful thought,” says Harmala Gupta, 58, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 33 when she was in Canada, where she got treated. “There is so much negativity about cancer in our country. People say things like, ‘How did this happen to you, you are such a good person!’ As if cancer happens to bad people. Yuvraj has an opportunity to do a great deed, like Armstrong has done in the US. Cancer treatment is very expensive in India, and there’s no health insurance. That needs to change. He can educate people, inspire them.”
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo