Far away in Boston,an American only vaguely familiar with cricket cant wait for Indias T20 game against New Zealand to begin on Saturday. In mid-March,Dr Lawrence H Einhorn signed Yuvraj Singhs discharge at Indiana Universitys Simon Cancer Center. With Yuvraj likely to take guard for his second innings over the weekend in Visakhapatanam,the oncologist is pleasantly surprised by the speed of the 30-year-olds chemotherapy to competitive cricket journey. Thats saying a lot as Dr Einhorn,who has also treated cycling legend Lance Armstrong at the same hospital,is not new to miraculous recoveries. Most of them return to full activity within three months. However,these people are usually doctors,lawyers,teachers etc,not world-class athletes.,so their return is not as physically demanding, Dr Einhorn told The Indian Express from Indiana. Yuvraj is strong physically,mentally and emotionally. I fully expected him to return to represent his country in cricket after recovery from his aggressive chemotherapy. It is a testament to his courage and fortitude that he was able to accomplish this after just a few months, he said. Besides his own unrelenting desire to be in the India huddle again,Yuvraj was motivated by several of his well-wishers on the comeback road. In the last three months,he has spent 50 days at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) first taking baby steps and later giant strides on the treadmill,working on his speed,agility and stamina. A team of six doctors,trainers,physios worked with him to monitor the load that his body could take. And there were always the calls to Boston and Dr Einhorns vital inputs. We are directly and indirectly in touch with Yuvraj through his doctor in India. There is nothing he needs to be careful about,other than going for his routine tests to make certain his cancer remains in remission, Dr Einhorn said. NCA director Sandeep Patil specifically worked with Yuvraj to ensure that no technical glitches crept into his batting. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) chipped in by arranging a few T20 matches with local clubs to help him with match fitness. There was no dearth of quality net bowlers,as many were willing to make the extra effort for one of the most popular member of the Indian team. One of them was former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra. When I bowled to him for the first time,his footwork was a bit circumspect. However,he was back in his elements very soon and started hitting those trademark big shots quite consistently. More than his batting,it was the amount of work he has put in to regain his fitness that really impressed me. He is as fit as I have ever seen him, said Mishra. Young speedster Varun Aaron tested Yuvraj with his pace,and the left-hander proved equal to the task. There was nothing amiss in his batting. He seemed to be in the same kind of form that he was in during the World Cup. Clearly,he has put in a lot of effort at the gym, he said.
