Former cricketer and actor Yograj Singh has once again found himself at the centre of controversy after several of his past remarks about son Yuvraj Singh, daughter-in-law Hazel Keech and their family resurfaced online.
What’s Happening
- In one of the interviews, Yograj had spoken about Yuvraj’s marriage to Hazel and revealed that he had encouraged his son to marry outside the community.
- During a conversation with Krishnank Atrey on YouTube, he said, “People wanted me to get Yuvraj married off in his 20s. I said, ‘Is he old already?’ When he turned 38, I told him, ‘Now you can think about it. I can’t choose for you. It’s your life, so find your partner.’ But I did request him to change the breed. People hearing this might oppose it, but we wanted an Irish or English girl in the family.”
- He added, “And then Hazel (Keech) came into our lives. They have such beautiful kids, and they treat me like their friend. I don’t call Hazel my daughter-in-law, she is my daughter.”
- Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech got married in 2016 and are parents to two children – son Orion, born in 2022, and daughter Aura, born in 2023.
Yograj Singh On Bond With Son Yuvraj
In another interview with SMTV last year, Yograj opened up about his relationship with his son and grandchildren. He shared that he met his grandson Orion more than two years after his birth because their schedules did not align.
“Yuvi and Hazel both say, ‘Granddad and grandmom are here’. It took me over two years to meet Orion, but never once in those two years did I feel… I would pray to God and tell Him, ‘They are also your grandchildren; if You meet them, I shall consider that I have met them too’,” he said.
Yograj also admitted that his strict parenting style may be one of the reasons there is distance between him and Yuvraj’s family.
“Yes, but the day Yuvi hands his children over to me, they will meet the same fate as he did. You can only forge gold through fire. There will be no mercy, because there is only one path… That’s what they fear, and that’s why we aren’t together,” he added.
Background
During another conversation with Highbrow Studios, Yograj said he still dreams of having his entire family together despite their strained bond. “It is a dream of mine to have my entire family together with me; two wives, all four children, my grandchildren… Driving around in 10 cars together…”
When asked whether he had expressed the wish to his family members, he replied, “I have, but they don’t speak to me. They keep a distance from me.”
The former cricketer further said, “If I declare that you are my daughter, who can say otherwise? They know that their father is a decent person. But they also know that I like my own company. They know that I am closer to God than I am with them. They know that I have a separate family. They know this. I have never missed them, but I am grateful that I was able to give them a good upbringing.”
Yuvraj himself has previously spoken about the strict upbringing he experienced under his father.
During an appearance on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, the former cricketer said he does not want his son to go through the same pressure.
“I just hope that he doesn’t get after Orion. He keeps saying that I should put him in cricket, but I tell him, ‘Isko apni life jeene do (Let him live his life.)’ It’s because he was always a coach to me, and never a father. I don’t want that to happen with my son, I want to be a father to him,” Yuvraj had said.
For the unversed, Yuvraj Singh is Yograj Singh’s son from his first marriage to Shabnam Kaur. Following their divorce, Yograj later married Satbir Kaur, and the couple has two children together.
