Sachin Tendulkar has said that he was scared of breaking down in front of Yuvraj Singh when he met the left-handed batsman in London after his treatment in the United States for a rare germ cell cancer.
"When I went to meet him in London, I was telling my wife (Anjali) that I don't want to break down when I see him. I met him and gave him a tight hug. We enjoyed a meal and from the way he (Yuvraj) ate, I was convinced that he is back on track," Tendulkar told a select gathering during the release of Yuvraj's book The Test of My Life in New Delhi on Tuesday.
It was a poignant evening with the likes of Tendulkar, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and latest batting star Virat Kohli recollecting stories and their emotional experiences during Yuvraj's fight with cancer.
"When I saw my wife discussing medical terms with Yuvraj, I realised what he has been going through. He is like my younger brother and I would ask God why it (the illness) had to happen to Yuvraj," Tendulkar said in an emotional tone.
Yuvraj, in his typical funny manner, recollected how he met Tendulkar for the first time.
"My first conversation was when I was looking at him in awe in the dressing room, when suddenly he said 'please pass on the biscuits," Yuvraj said.
To this Tendulkar said, "I have not got those biscuits till now."
On a serious note, Dhoni said that he knew about Yuvraj's situation even before he told him about it.
"When his test reports came, someone told me he has cancer. I just said 'are you sure'. The person repeated that Yuvraj has cancer. I was shocked," said Dhoni.
Recalling India's World Cup triumph in 2011, Yuvraj said, "Dhoni does not talk too much while batting. But when he got out against Australia in the quarter-finals, while going back he said ‘shaabash Yuvi jitake aana’."
Photograph: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
