'Yuvraj treats Arpita like his sister'

The latest buzz around town - regarding cricketer Yuvraj Singh's supposed proximity with Salman Khan's sister, Arpita, and the duo having been spotted at a nightclub in Delhi, has upset Yuvraj's mother, Shabnam Singh, very much. "All this is nonsense. It is utter rubbish," she says. "His passion is just to play for the country, and he is focussing on that. But you people keep writing such things about him," she says. 

So, it is not true then? "That day, there were around 11-12 people at that place - and they were all in a group. But he gets singled out. It is my request - don't write such things about him. I don't want all this written. He was also at an NGO the other day, and he took a pledge to educate 1000 children. But you will not write about that - that is not exciting, you see. You will only spread the bad word. If he were a film star, I would laugh at all this. But he is a sportsman. This girl, Arpita, is just a kid and Yuvraj has known her for a very long time now - she is a kid. Yuvraj and Salman are very close, Salman is like an elder brother to Yuvi, and she is Salman's kid sister. And my son treats her the same way Salman treats her. That kid comes to our house - mere saath bhi baatein hoti hain, we sit together, and look at all the things you write - it is untrue, baseless."

So, why doesn't Yuvraj come out and say as much? "I am speaking for him - his mother is saying these things are untrue. He will never speak about such things. And even if he does, you will say he is lying. So, what's the use?" she reiterates.