Introduction

“The Test of My Life” is the autobiography of the well-known Indian batsman, Yuvraj Singh.
This book serves as an inspiration. Yuvi writes about his love for cricket and his battle against cancer.
Read about his struggles as he grows from an avid cricketer to getting into Team India. Yuvi acquired cancer later on in his career.

In this book, you will learn about how he defeated cancer and returned to cricket. He wrote a book and even started a foundation called YOUWECAN for cancer patients. YOUWECAN provides free check-ups and spreads awareness about the fatal disease.
If you're a fan of cricket or just anyone who wants to read an inspiring story, this book should definitely be on your list.

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All the Way to India

As a kid, I loved sports of all kinds. I used to look forward to recess and Physical Training. I absolutely hated all the other subjects. I always get low scores. My friend, Aanchal, used to help me with my studies. Yet, my scores kept dropping.
There was one time when I was batting with my friends. I accidentally hit a man riding on his scooter. The ball hit him hard, and he fell down. The man really got annoyed. He stood up and then ran after all of us. I remember this as my earliest cricket memory.

My father thought it was a good idea to send me to Yadavindra Public School. Navjot Singh Sidhu, a famous batsman, used to practise at Maharani Club. My father took me there one day.
He asked Sidhu to watch me bat. After watching me play, Sidhu turned to my father and told him that I wasn't meant for cricket. My father is not easily discouraged, though. He is determined to put me on the national team. He never gave up on me.

One early morning, my father wanted me to start practising. It was a chilly day. I stayed in bed, and I pretended not to hear him. My father came up to my room and poured a whole bucket of freezing water on my face. This made me extremely furious.
On days when I scored well, I felt that my father is right about his ambition of making me a great cricketer. I felt that cricket could give me the freedom I wanted.

My parent's marriage was not working out. My younger brother, Zorawar, is eight years younger than me. While I found sanctuary in cricket, I felt that Zorawar was pushed in a corner. My mother would often stay away to fix the marriage issues. This made me feel uneasy as she was my support system.
My father was very strict about cricket. He continued to drill me in my teenage years. Once, while playing in a Ranji practice match, I got out at 39. Father learned about it and got angry. He told me not to come home, or he would kill me.

I slept in my car, which was parked outside the house. When I came home the next morning, Father saw me and threw a glass of milk on my face.
At another time, I misfielded because of a stress fracture in my back. I went home that night and found out that Father ripped out the sound system of my car. Constant negative comments from my older teammates made things more difficult.

Finally, I scored a hundred for the Ranji Trophy. My father called me and asked how the game went. I proudly told him that I scored a century. But my father asked me “Why didn’t you score two hundred?”
I felt despair. Father called again just to inform me that he took my car keys and hid them somewhere.

After this, I went on to play in the U-19 World Cup wherein I became Player of the Tournament. That is how I got drafted to the Indian national team.
In my first match, I scored 84 and became the Man of the Match.
When I received my first paycheck, I bought a house for my mother.

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The Top-of-the-World Cup

The 2011 World Cup was an epic adventure. In our game against England, I found it impossible to turn my head. It was a neck problem which started with a sprain in 2010. The MRI showed a disc bulge.

Nitin Patel, our physiotherapist, was called in to unlock my neck, but it was still stiff. I was to bat at number 4. While I played two balls, I felt my neck start to unlock. My success was unstoppable after that. I consistently played well for my team.

Sachin Tendulkar had a huge influence over me. I consider it my biggest achievement that I have been his teammate. Before playing the World Cup, Sachin told me to play the tournament for someone I loved or respected. His motivating words always helped me and our teammates to be determined.
While having dinner in Mexico with the team, one of the fans came up to Ravinder Jadeja and shouted at him. The fan screamed, “How could you lose?” This was followed by abusive language.

The argument got ugly. This incident made it to the news. We were branded as overpaid and irresponsible players. After this incident, I was dropped off from the team. In July, I was selected to play against Sri Lanka.

Just before the World Cup, I selected two bats. I marked one as World Cup No.1 and the other as World Cup No. 2. I played with the bat marked one against South Africa. While leaving for Dhaka, I couldn't find the bat marked 2. I didn't know that my mother had asked someone to bring the bat to her in Chandigarh.
Mother took the bat to a Sangat so that Babaji could bless it. There were plenty of people in the gathering. When Babaji saw it, he exclaimed, “This in Yuvi’s bat!” He knew that it was the bat I would use for the World Cup. Babaji encouraged everyone to bless it.

My mother came in time for the Bangalore match. She gave me bat no. 2 back. I felt lucky. In the World Cup, I scored a total of 352 runs, including four 50s and a century.

'C' Change: from Cricket to Cancer

One of my most trusted people in the health business is Jatin Chaudhry. He is an acupuncture specialist and a physiotherapist. I first met him when I had a tear on my left knee back in 2006. During a shoulder injury in 2008, my trust in Jatin grew more.
When I learned about my tumour, I valued Jatin's therapy and opinion far more than others.

Because of my coughing, I was advised by Dr Kohli to get an X-ray done. As I was leaving, Jatin stopped me and told me to check the X-ray plates. The doctor was frowning, and Jatin looked worried. I could see a white blur. The doctor advised me to take an FNAC test.

The next day I also got a CT scan done. I received a call from Dr Kohli after. He said that he had bad news to tell me. There is a tumour in my lungs. Dr Kohli told me that it could be malignant and cancerous.
My Mom was in Gurudwara. Jatin informed her about my health. When mother and I finally saw each other, she looked at me and started crying. I also informed all of my close friends.
Dr Parmeswaran asked me to get admitted to a hospital immediately.

My body was rejecting everything I ate and drank. Meanwhile, Puma asked me for a date to shoot with Bolt, Alonso and Aguero. It was for an endorsement deal I signed earlier.
Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter. Fernando Alonso is a Spanish race car driver. Sergio Aguero is a footballer from Argentina. I gave Puma the date of around January 2012 when I thought I'd be free.
But I found out about my cancer, and I told Puma about it. They didn't bail out from the deal. They just told me that I could take the time to get better. But I had to keep my promise.

So I went for the shoot and there we had to run on a treadmill. Alonso autographed a cap for me. It was the one I wore when watching his races. I didn't get the chance to meet Bolt, though. He shot his part and left. Bolt is a cricket-fan, and I would have loved to speak to him.

Getting to meet and work with the world-famous athletes took my mind off about the tumour in my lungs. But whenever I am clearing my throat, I coughed blood.
As an athlete, I was always trained to deny pain. I remember Anil Kumble, a legendary cricketer, who played with a fractured jaw versus the West Indies.

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