"I Rely On Strangers For Food": Yograj Singh, Father Of Yuvraj Singh, Says "Ready To Die"
Yograj Singh, father of Indian cricket icon Yuvraj Singh, narrated his battle with loneliness, while also saying that he is 'ready to die'.
Indian cricket icon Yuvraj Singh's father Yograj, has often made headlines for his unfiltered opinions on various aspects of the game, as well as personal relationships. On multiple occasions, Yograj has blamed former India captain MS Dhoni for an unsatisfactory end to Yuvraj's cricketing career. On the personal front, Yograj hasn't enjoyed long-lasting relationships. In an interview, the former cricketer-turned-coach shed light on his battle with loneliness, even saying that he is 'ready to die' now as his life is complete.
Away from his wife and children, Yograj revealed that he relies on strangers to provide him food. Though he loves his family members, he doesn't ask them for anything.
"I sit alone in the evening, have no one at home. I rely on strangers for food, sometimes one person, sometimes the other. I don't bother anyone though. Someone or the others gets food for me if I am hungry. I kept house help and cooks, they served and went away," Yograj Singh said in a chat with the Vintage Studio.
"I love my mother, kids, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, everyone in the family. But, I don't ask for anything. I am ready to die. My life is completed, whenever God wants, he can take me with him. I am so thankful to God, I pray and he keeps giving," he added.
Yograj, aged 62, said that he received his life's biggest shock when his wife and son Yuvraj decided to leave him behind. Calling himself 'innocent', Yograj said that he doesn't know what he did wrong to deserve such loneliness.
"When things came to a point where Yuvi and his mother left me, it gave me the biggest shock. The woman for whom I dedicated my entire life, all of my youth, they can also leave me and go away?"
"A lot of things got destroyed like this. I asked God why all of this was happening when I did everything right by everyone. I might have made some mistakes, but I am an innocent man, didn't do anything bad to anyone. I cried in front of God, he took me out of that sea," he said.
Yograj married for the first time when he tied the nuptial knot with Shabnam Kaur, with whom he had two sons, Yuvraj and Zoravar. The marriage dissolved due to conflicts between the couple. Yuvraj once himself revealed that he suggested the parents get divorced as they "were always fighting."
"It was God's play, what was written for me. There was a lot of anger and feeling of revenge. Then cricket came in my life, got discontinued, made Yuvi play cricket, he played and left. Then, I got married again, had two kids, they also left for the US. A few films also released, time passed away and came back to the point where it all started. I was asking myself that I did all of this for what? Do you have anyone with you now? This should have happened with me, happened for good," he said.
Yograj Singh's international career was a short one. He played one Test and six ODIs for India in the early 1980s before injuries forced him to retire early. He has, however, continued to stay in touch with cricket through coaching.
Yuvraj Singh