During his playing days, Yograj Singh - father of former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh - was widely regarded as an exceptional talent. However, he failed to do justice to his ability, representing India in only one Test and six ODIs.
While Yograj couldn’t make it big at the highest level, he trained his son to be a world champion. To better his cricketing skills, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun Tendulkar has also trained under Yograj.
The 66-year-old runs an academy and the videos of which give a perception of him being a hard task master. In an interview on Zee Switch, Yograj recently opened up on his training academy.
"If anyone wants to join your academy, what mind set should that kid come in with?" Yograj Singh was asked.
In reply, he said: "First of all, the fear of death should end. When I was three years old, my dad told my mom that we were going on a tiger hunt. My mom was afraid. My dad said, "If he dies, it won't make any difference. But I will make him like a tiger'. So that three year kid is sitting with his mother in the jungle of kaladhungi. My father was carrying a rifle and it was a moonlit night. We were sitting on a machaan (elevated platform). And then the tiger came, the kid was about to shout but my mom held his mouth. Then my dad shot the tiger from six feet. Shot dead in the head. He fell like a mountain."
"The kid was speechless. My father told my mom to take me down. He then held me and said, "sher ka baccha ghas nahi khata (a tiger cub doesn't eat grass). That voice went like an echo. He made me sit on the tiger and smeared its blood on my lips and forehead. I still have that photo in my home. I think my academy is like that. I have made Yuvraj like that. Fearless," he added.
Yograj Singh was recently in the news for launching a verbal attack on MS Dhoni. He accused the former India skipper of "destroying" Yuvraj's international career.
"I won't forgive MS Dhoni. He should look at his face in the mirror. He is a very big cricketer, but what he has done against my son, everything is coming out now; it can never be forgiven in life. I have never done two things in life - first, I have never forgiven anybody who has done wrong for me, and second, I have never hugged them in my life, be it my family members or my kids," Yograj had said.
“That man (MS Dhoni) has destroyed the life of my son, who could have played four to five years more. I dare everyone to give birth to a son like Yuvraj. Even Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag have said in the past that there won't be another Yuvraj Singh. India should award him the Bharat Ratna for playing with cancer and winning the World Cup for the country,” he further remarked.
