For the kin of cricketers, win yet to sink in

April 04, 2011 01:27 am | Updated November 17, 2021 02:58 am IST - New Delhi:

Yuvraj Singh's mother Shabnam Singh flashes the victory sign in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Yuvraj Singh's mother Shabnam Singh flashes the victory sign in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Some are in disbelief, while others can't stop themselves from shedding tears of joy — emotionally overwhelmed family members of the World Cup winning Indian cricket team say the enormity of the triumph is yet to sink in even as they prepare for grand celebrations.

Father of Yuvraj Singh, Yograj, would shed tears of joy on his son's shoulders once the star batsman returns home with his man of the series trophy for a stupendous run with both the bat and ball during the World Cup.

“I think I will hug him and probably weep over his shoulders...he has made all of us so proud,” Yograj said.

Struggling to fight back his emotions, Yograj recalled how he had forced Yuvraj to take up cricket despite his son's liking for skating.

“God bless you son, you have made the nation and a father proud. It was my dream of 30 years to live for this moment. If ever there is a second birth, I will like you to be born as my son again so that I could give you all the happiness and comfort which I deprived you during your childhood to see you became a top cricketer,” Yograj said.

Sehwag's wife switched off TV

Dashing opener Virender Sehwag's wife Aarti said she was so nervous watching the match that she saw only the last 15 overs of the Indian chase.

“I am very excited. I switched off the TV after he [Sehwag] got out. Switched it on only in the last 15 overs. But I had the intuition that we would win the World Cup,” she said.

Middle-order batsman Virat Kohli's mother Saroj said the feeling is yet to sink in that her son was a part of a World Cup winning squad.

“I am very happy. In fact I don't have words to describe how I am feeling. I can't believe what has happened. We will celebrate once he comes home,” she said.

Opener Gautam Gambhir's parents, Deepak and Seema, said they couldn't have asked for anything better from their son, who scored a brilliant 97 in the match.

“This team has played very well,” said Deepak.

“Gautam is a great player. I have no regrets about him missing the century. He was playing for the team. Everybody has to contribute. This is amazing,” said the doting mother.

Indian captain M.S. Dhoni's mother-in-law Sheila Singh congratulated both Dhoni and her daughter Sakshi.

“Congrats to Mahi and Sakshi. I spoke to them on Saturday night and congratulated them. They are celebrating, so we don't want to disturb them,” said Sheila Singh.

Yuvraj shed “buckets of water” (tears of joy) after India registered a historic win, said his mother Shabnam Singh.

“I was left speechless. I could not believe that India had finally won. Yuhoooo and we've done it was Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh's] first reaction over phone when he rang me up,” she said here.

“It's an incredible feeling. I am feeling like I am over the moon, simply overwhelmed,” she said.

With people turning critical of Yuvraj in the past, Shabnam held a grudge, particularly against the media, lamenting that he had been singled out and linked to controversies in the past.

“He is a very down-to-earth and a religious boy. His Gurus (family's religious Gurus — Ram Singh and Ajit Singh — based at Fatehgarh Sahib) have been his guiding force. Media sometimes portrays him as something he is not. He is an honest and a hard-working guy,” Shabnam said, adding that Yuvraj was now “a more mature and focused cricketer.”

On how desperately Yuvraj wanted to win the Cup for Sachin Tendulkar, Shabnam said: “Yuvi recently told me that Sachin had been playing for the country for 21 years and yet not seen this glory of winning the World Cup.

“He told me that Sachin is India's cricketing god and all he wanted to do was give his best contribution to ensure that India won the Cup.”

Harbhajan's mother does a bhangra

Big celebrations started at off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's Jalandhar residence, with his aged mother Avtar Kaur doing a round of bhangra with relatives and well-wishers to celebrate India's historic win.

As soon as Dhoni hit the winning runs, Avtar Kaur danced like any youngster, and was surrounded by men, women and children.

“I am so happy for India and proud of my son,” Kaur said.

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