Yuvraj Singh's 'The Test of my life' is innate honesty

'The Test of my life' is an honest and poignant account of the vulnerabilities and darkness that consumed India's world cup hero.

It is easy for a book to perpetuate a myth. Or attempt a portrayal of heroism and triumph against the odds when a man has just emerged from a frightening ordeal. More so, if that man is Yuvraj Singh- celebrity cricketer and the very embodiment of machismo, with a dedicated fan following thirsting for every little nugget of his life. While chronicling Yuvraj's battle against cancer, the authors could so easily have spun the story as a cleverly disguised marketing exercise, designed to enhance his 'brand value'. Instead, they chose to tell the truth with all its frailties and un-sexiness and deserve plaudits for doing so.

'The Test of my life' is an honest and poignant account of the vulnerabilities and darkness that consumed India's World Cup hero through his battle with cancer. In less than 200 riveting pages the book invites us into the inner world of a man who experiences the extremities of a roller coaster in the space of weeks- and finds his own method to tackle the challenge.

The greatest triumph of 'The Test of My Life' is its innate honesty. Yuvraj bravely reveals his anxieties as the battle against cancer took over his life. Asking his doctor before chemotherapy begins if he will be 'able to father a child in the future' and if he 'could maybe preserve his sperm' before treatment begins. He bares the terrible loneliness of staring out of his window in Indianapolis with the town buzzing ahead of the Super Bowl. Just days before he was the central figure in a grand sporting moment too- India's World Cup triumph. Now he was a mute witness to another sporting spectacle unfolding- unsure of what lay ahead.