Indian superstar Yuvraj Singh in Sri Lanka to raise awareness for adolescents in South Asia

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Indian cricketing legend Yuvraj Singh and five captains of under 19 teams from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who will lead their teams in the U19 ICC Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, came together today (4) at the Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo to showcase the power of sports to shape the future of adolescents in South Asia as the UNICEF and the International Cricket Council (ICC) joined hands together for the launch of the event.

Yuvraj Singh was India’s man of the series in their 2011 world cup winning campaign and was also India’s man of the series as an adolescent in the year 2000 at the U19 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Speaking at the event was the Regional Director for UNICEF in South Asia, Jean Gough who pointed out that “There are 340 million adolescents in South Asia. I felt the energy and the buzz when I walked into this room and I feel so much of hope. While the challenges in this region are vast, my hope is that their energy can be harnessed to create a better tomorrow for all adolescents in South Asia.”

“There are more adolescents in South Asia than anywhere else in the world. Almost 1 in 2 girls in this region are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 5 give birth before they reach 18. More than 4 in 10 adolescent girls are underweight. South Asian countries must invest in programs and policies to improve the lives of adolescents in all areas.”, she further added.

Yuvraj Singh addressing the event stated that “Adolescence is a time of great opportunity and vulnerability. With investment and support, adolescents can reach their full potential. It is our priority to build a more peaceful, prosperous and equitable future for adolescents in South Asia.”

Singh also touched on the air pollution dilemma which affected many Sri Lankan players in the ongoing third Test, and he believed that those challenges are a part and parcel of the game and players needed to move on with the game. He also hinted that he is willing to play for India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, before he makes a decision on his career. He was quoted in this regard saying that “I don’t know how many people believe in me, but I do”.

Finally his message for all adolescents around the world was that “You need to go through plenty of failure in order to be successful and never be scared to express yourself”.

A panel discussion was followed by a friendly game of cricket between the Indian superstar, the U19 cricketers and the youth attending the event from various countries in South Asia.