Yuvraj Singh for Arjuna Award

Yuvraj Singh for Arjuna Award

New Delhi: Yuvraj Singh will be among 25 to get the Arjuna Award.

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who is preparing to stage a comeback after recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, is among the 25 sportsperson, who have been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

The final list of award winners is expected to be announced in a couple of days by the Sports Ministry.

Generally, the names submitted by the Committees are accepted by the Ministry.

Hockey mid-fielder Sardar Singh, wrestler Geeta Phogat, and Narsingh Yadav, shooters Annu Raj Singh and Omkar Singh, shuttlers P Kashyap and Ashwini Ponappa, archers Deepika Kumari and Bombayla Devi are among Arjuna Award winners, according to a reliable source.

It is noteworthy that all the other medallists at the London Games - Mary Kom, Gagan Narang, Sushil Kumar and Saina Nehwal - have already received the prestigious award. While Mary Kom and Sushil Kumar got it jointly along with Vijender Singh in 2008-09, Saina Nehwal got it in 2009-10 and Gagan Narang was the last recipient.

The awards were instituted in 1991-92 and the first of the awards went to Chess superstar Viswanathan Anand. While Vijay Kumar will be the sixth shooter to receive the award after Abhinav Bindra (2001-02), Anjali Bhagwat (2002-03), Rajyavardhan Rathore (2004-05), Manavjit Sandhu (2006-07) and Gagan Narang (2010-11), Yogeshwar Dutt will join Sushil Kumar as the second wrestler to get it once the award is conferred.

Kumar was promoted to the rank of Subedar Major by the government in a ceremony on Thursday and Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh had promised him all help to elevate him to the rank of an officer.

Yogeshwar's bronze medal was also a stupendous feat considering the fact that he bounced back brilliantly after losing his 60kg quarterfinal bout and worked his way to the bronze through the repechage stage. He showed tremendous stamina, skill and strength to overcome all odds.

Yuvraj trains hard

  

Yuvraj Singh.

Back in India colours for cricket’s shortest format, Yuvraj Singh was a picture of ease at the National Cricket Academy nets here on Saturday.

The southpaw, who successfully battled cancer, is part of the Indian Twenty20 team for the matches against New Zealand and the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, next month.

During his rest and recovery phase, Yuvraj has been a regular visitor to the NCA and he has gradually increased the intensity of his training and practice stints.

Yuvraj squared up against Amit Mishra and company, that included a bunch of eager junior Karnataka bowlers.

The seamers bowled at full tilt within their limited range, while Mishra drew joy from slipping one past a charging Yuvraj besides inducing a few mistimed strokes.

Yuvraj, though, remained aggressive through the session, pulling and whipping down the on-side before discarding his bat to turn his arm over against Shikhar Dhawan.

Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have wound up their training programmes and will leave the NCA on Sunday.

Yuvraj Singh's return will help young cricketers, says MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni said his side is fit and ready for a busy cricket season ahead © AFP

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not only delighted with the return of Yuvraj Singh, but also with the fact that he will have another senior cricketer to guide the youngsters.

During the launch of India’s new jersey for the Twenty20 format, Dhoni expressed his happiness over Yuvraj’s comeback in the national side.

“He’s not only an important player but also an important character in the team. Without him the dressing-room is a bit boring,” he said.

“Virat was trying his best to keep things light and ensure that the newcomers settled in quickly. Now we’ll have a healthy competition between Virat and Yuvi, to see who is the best at ragging,” the Indian captain was quoted as saying by BCCI’s official website.

Dhoni said the break which the Indian team got after the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League has helped them many folds to gear up for a crucial season.

“We had nearly a month and a half off and even when we played in Sri Lanka recently we had enough gaps between matches,” said Dhoni.

“The time off has given us a chance to be mentally and physically fit. If you look ahead at the packed schedule you will feel there is a lot of cricket ahead. The better thing is to take it a bit more short term and look at what you need to do in the next 15 days," he added.

Yuvraj, who has recovered from a rare germ cell cancer, said he had trained hard at the NCA in Bangalore for the last two months and was feeling good but a bit nervous too after the long break from cricket.

"I am feeling good. I have worked hard for the last two months. I am nervous. I never thought I will get another chance (to play for India). I feel as if it is the first game for me," said Yuvraj who has been chosen in the Indian team for the series against New Zealand and the World T20.

Talking about the new T20 jersey, Dhoni remarked in a lighter vein that he did not know whether the research that has gone into it would translate into extra runs for the team.

"Lots of research has gone into it. I don't know whether the research will result in extra runs but we will definitely feel more comfortable.

"This is a very good start. When people are swapping channels they see white and immediately know it is Test cricket and blue with One Day cricket. Now that we have a T20 shirt there will be a strong association between the format and the T-shirt," said the captain. 

Key features of the uniform include the new collar, a dash of tricolour near the left shoulder and three stars above the BCCI's logo signifying the three World Cup victories.

Yuvraj, Harbhajan Singh back in India colours

The national selectors came up with many surprises in their last meeting here on Friday as they sat down to pick up the Indian teams for the two-Test series at home against New Zealand and the Twenty20 international meets. Barely months after his remarkable recovery from a rare germ cell cancer, Yuvraj Singh has been included in the team for the World T20 to be held in Sri Lanka from September 18. The same team will do business in the two T20Is against New Zealand prior to the biennial event. Another interesting pick is the selection of senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was dropped from the national side for want of performances and has been out for a year. Hardworking seamer from Tamil Nadu, Lakshmipathy Balaji, makes a comeback to the national side after three years. His remarkable performance with the ball for the triumphant Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s IPL must have paved the way for his selection. He is yet to play T20Is, though. Yuvraj’s selection was expected after he was declared fit by the physio and trainer of the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy, where he has been training for the last one month. Chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth said after the meeting: “Yuvraj has been declared fit, so he makes a comeback. And all of us know he can singlehandedly win matches if he gets going,” The two T20 Internationals against New Zealand, on September 8 and 11, will test Yuvraj’s fitness after he underwent chemotherapy in the United States earlier this year. Ever since his diagnosis, the left-hander has remained out of action since the second Test match against the West Indies played from November 14-17 in Kolkata last year. The selection committee took around three-and-a-half hours to decide on the two squads – the bone of contention being the selection of Yuvraj and Harbhajan. It was learnt that Yuvraj’s selection wasn’t exactly unanimous as a couple of selectors had their reservations about picking him up for the World T20 since he has not played a competitive match for the past nine months. However, the experience and his ability to win matches singlehandedly in the shortest format went in his favour. As far as Harbhajan’s selection goes, it was purely on his experience at the stage as huge as the World T20, India lacks experience on the spin front. Moreover, he is a member of the victorious World Cup (50-overs format) team of 2011. Harbhajan last played for India against England at Trent Bridge last July-August before returning home due to back injury. He was not considered since then and has been working his way back to form by turning out for Essex in the English County Championship. His best performance till date, though, has been three for 29 against Leicestershire in the 40-over game that was eventually reduced to 25-over affair due to rain. Another surprise came in the form of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who has not done anything extraordinary in the domestic season to push himself back to the fold. He got the nod ahead of the other leg-spinners Rahul Sharma and Amit Mishra. He has also been included in the Test side. Among those missing the nod from the World T20 side is Ajinkya Rahane, who was in prime touch for Jaipur side in the IPL. However, he has been included in the Test team as a reserve opener. Suresh Raina also returns to the Test squad. Eight of the 15-member team for World T20 – captain MS Dhoni, his deputy Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj, Irfan Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Chawla and Harbhajan – were a part of India’s triumph in the first edition in South Africa in 2007.

Yuvraj Singh contemplated retirement during fight against cancer

Yuvraj’s Singh hard work and rigorous practise sessions helped the cricketer to attain fitness and bag a place in the Indian side © Getty Images

Yuvraj Singh’s mother Shabnam made a sensational revelation on Sunday that the Indian cricket star, who made a remarkable comeback to the national side after winning the battle against cancer, was once contemplating retirement.

“Yuvraj used to practise nearly 7-8 hours in the stadaium. He considered retiring from all formats of cricket as making a comeback was not easy, especially when someone is away from cricket field for straight 8 months, but his determination to play once again for the national team coupled with hard work has finally paid him what he deserves,” Shabnam told Dainik Bhaskar.

She added that Yuvraj’s hard work and rigorous practise sessions helped the cricketer to attain fitness and bag a place in the Indian side.

Yuvraj had expressed on Twitter a few days agoabout his delightment for being named in the Indian team.

“Can’t explain how I feel! Feels like I’m going to play for India for the first time,” a thrilled Yuvraj, who was declared fit by the National Cricket Academy, tweeted.

“I’ve worked very hard and will go all out to prepare for the T20 World Cup!”

The report added that Yuvraj wanted to play Yuvi wanted to play in the Katoch Shield in Chandigarh, for which he even spoke to Mohinder Singh, Secretary of Chandigarh Cricket Association.

Meanwhile, Yuvraj’s father Yograj expressed happiness over his recall to the Indian cricket team for the ICC World Twenty20 starting from September 18 in Sri Lanka.

“The way Yuvraj has transformed himself after the successful operation is commendable. He has worked hard over his fitness and this is the reason why board has once against shown trust in him,” Yograj said.

Yuvraj Singh, Tendulkar mourn Rajesh Khanna's death

Yuvraj Singh, Tendulkar mourn Rajesh Khanna's death

 

 

New Delhi: Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has expressed grief on hearing the news of actor Rajesh Khanna’s death on Wednesday.

“Sad to hear about mr rajesh khanna I hope his soul rests in peace !!” he posted on twitter.
Sachin Tendulkar remembered watching many of his movies saying his whole family admired him as an actor.

“Very unfortunate to hear about the demise of Rajesh Khanna Ji. While growing up I watched so many of his movies...”

“..as my whole family admired him as an actor. He will live on in our hearts forever. May his soul rest in peace.” he posted on Twitter.

Former Indian batsman and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar also mourned his death pointing out Aradhna as the movie for the actors’ huge popularity among his legions of fans.

“Aradhana, I guess, achieved super stardom for both Kishore Kumar & Rajesh Khanna...magical combination of Indian cinema...sigh” he twitted.

Sports minister Ajay Maken remembered Rajesh Khanna as “a great human being”.

“Rajesh Khanna,an actor and a former MP from New Delhi, my Parliamentary Constituency,was above all a great human being.” he posted on twitter.

“Workers from New Delhi still remember this extra-ordinary Super Star mingling gently with ordinary workers. RIP Rajesh Khanna” he wrote.

New Delhi: He was down but not out. After having the battle against cancer, Yuvraj Singh is all set to regain his place in Team India.

The swashbuckling all-rounder was on Wednesday was named in the 30 probables for the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in September.

However, it is not certain whether the southpaw, who recently underwent treatment for cancer, will make the cut for the final 15 that will be announced in August.


Yuvraj will have to prove his match fitness for the tournament and will be eager to do so.
Off spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been out of the Indian team for quite some time, has also been included in the preliminary squad.

A few promising youngsters such as all-rounder Mandeep Singh and wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha and domestic veterans such as batsman Ambati Rayudu were picked in the list announced by the BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale.

Paceman Laxmipathy Balaji, who last played an international match in 2009, was also part of the provisional list which will be pruned to a 15-member squad at a later stage.

Surprise picks in the squad are long-forgotten Balaji, who has not played any Twenty20 for the national team. In fact, Balaji's last ODI appearance for the country was back in 2009 against Sri Lanka.

The rest of the squad features players who have been in and out of the team on a rotational basis.

Youngsters in the line-up include batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who would be filling up for Sachin Tendulkar in the upcoming tour of Sri lanka. Shikhar Dhawan, who endured an indifferent tour of the West Indies with the India A squad, has also been included.

The World Twenty20 will begin on September 18 with the men's competition while the women's matches will begin on September 26.



Indian Squad

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, L. Balaji