Yuvraj Singh, the former India all-rounder, has credited batting legend Sachin Tendulkar for his successful comeback to the field after beating cancer.

After starring in India’s successful World Cup 2011 triumph, Yuvraj was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called mediastinal seminoma. At the time, there were serious questions about whether the middle-order batsman would ever play for India again, but he successfully returned and continued to play for India till 2017.

Yuvraj has now revealed the role Tendulkar played in his return to the field at a time when he was contemplating retirement. “There were a few ups and downs,” Yuvraj told Sportskeeda. “I kept on speaking to Sachin, and he said, ‘Why do we play cricket? Yes, we want to play international, but we play for the love of the sport. If you love the game, you want to play.’

“Sachin said, ‘If I was in the situation, I wouldn’t know what to do, but if you love the game, you still play the game and decide when you want to retire. People should not decide that for you.’”

Yuvraj made his comeback in 2012, in a T20I against New Zealand, and was part of the squad for the T20 World Cup later that year, and played a part in the team’s run to the finals of the 2014 edition of the tournament.

He also scored a career-best 150 in an ODI against England in Cuttack in January 2017, and was part of the India side that reached the finals of the Champions Trophy later that year.

#OnThisDay in 2001, Yuvraj Singh opened the innings for 🇮🇳 in a failed chase v 🇱🇰.

Harbhajan Singh walked in at four, Ganguly at five, Dravid at six and Sehwag at eight!

Can you think of a weirder batting line-up? pic.twitter.com/hVooRJc5fq

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) July 22, 2020

Yuvraj admitted, however, that his body “wasn’t the same” after cancer. “I had some good chats with him (Sachin) and played 3-4 years of domestic cricket,” said Yuvraj. “I was in and out of the Indian team, played the T20 World Cup. I made a few comebacks, but it was time to move on because my body was not the same after cancer.

“But I still managed to come back and score my highest ODI score. I just wanted to be happy in my life. I wanted to be at peace and have no regrets, so I moved on.”

Yuvraj announced his retirement last year, two years after his last appearance for India, and recently said the BCCI could have handled the final stages of his career more “professionally”.