Desk Report,
The prince’s deal with God, ‘Give the World Cup, take whatever you want in return’
2011. It was a dream The prince’s year for me. It was my third World Cup as an Indian cricketer. And what luck, we won that World Cup! It was an extraordinary feeling. The tournament was held in the subcontinent, the final on our home turf. Winning the World Cup in front of millions of spectators in the country, what could be a better scenario than that!
The prince’s deal with God, ‘Give the World Cup, take whatever you want in return’
Before the tournament started, of course, many people were saying a lot of crooked things about me. About my weight, getting a place in the team, and even about my ‘bad form’ after recovering from an injury. But none of this could stop me.
As the tournament progressed, our team became more and more unstoppable. We won all the remaining matches except one loss and one draw. If we had not lost to South Africa, we would have matched Australia’s great record of winning the World Cup unbeaten. That seven-week tournament was held in the scorching heat, and at that time, some symptoms started to become apparent in my body. I could not sleep at night, and I felt nauseous all the time. I didn’t understand it at the time, but a few months later, a new ‘C’ came into my life—not cricket, but cancer! And to fight this new ‘C’, I went to the icy-cold Indianapolis.
My mother, Dr. Nitesh, and I were in a small, cramped chamber. Pictures of flowers hung on the wall, and Dr. Einhorn in front. He examined me, then explained a lot. He said that chemotherapy would start the next day. I would have to be admitted to the hospital. Once the chemotherapy was over, I would be able to return home.
We decided that Nitesh would return to India after completing the first day of chemo. Because he had a lot of work and patients waiting. And me? I prepared myself for the chemotherapy cycle in Indianapolis. If you exclude the holidays, it would be a total of 57 days of struggle! I told myself, ‘Okay, 57 days! I can do it.’
After returning from the hospital, another problem arose! The hotel will only let you stay for as long as you have booked. My problem was discovered so suddenly that we booked the room at the last minute. I was training the day before, and the next day I was a patient! Everything happened so suddenly that we could only book the room for five days.
