New age Punjab players add edge to Indian cricket

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, July 9

With Indian cricket is scaling new heights with each passing day, a major portion of this credit goes to the young generation of Punjab cricketers, who are turning out to be the flag bearers of Indian cricket.

After Arshdeep Singh’s heroics in the recent T20 World Cup title win, another emerging star of Indian cricket from the state, Shubhman Gill, got an opportunity to lead the side in the ongoing Zimbabwe tour. Besides, these two, left-arm all-rounder Abhishek Sharma scored a brilliant century in the second match of his international debut against Zimbabwe. Coming to fill in for the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh, these youngsters of Punjab are only enhancing the region’s reputation of producing world-class cricketers.

Not only in men’s cricket, but the state is performing fairly well in women’s cricket also. As hitter Harmanpreet Kaur leads the current Indian women’s team, the contribution of the likes of Tanya Bhatia, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur and Manant Kashyap for the Indian team is not to be forgotten. Not just these names, but Punjab pacer Siddharth Kaul, who represented the Indian U-19 team and later also the senior squad, signed a deal with English County Northamptonshire, marking his debut in the English domestic circuit.

Sandeep Sharma, who plays for Chandigarh, had his stint with the Indian team while playing for Punjab, and Harnoor Singh, a member of the U-19 World Cup winning team, also moved to his parent state Punjab after a short stint with a Chandigarh association. The likes of Gurkeerat Mann and Mandeep Singh, also from Punjab, represented the modern era of cricketers to bag fame in international cricket.

“It’s just the beginning. Many players can make it to the Indian men’s and women’s teams. It’s just a matter of time, the world will see more players from Punjab in the Indian squad,” said Dilsher Khanna, secretary, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA).

He added, “The association is giving the best platform to the youngsters and talented cricketers. The Sher-e-Punjab league turned out to be a huge advantage for the players. On the day of getting his Indian debut call, Abhishek was playing in the same league. It has helped Punjab players to showcase their talents for the IPL teams. Most of our players have played in the Indian U-19 teams and some have even been included in the India-A squad. The (above-mentioned) names have added to the legacy of former international players from the region and the state association,” added Khanna.

He also predicted that the Punjab teams would perform fairly well in this year’s domestic circuit, given the exposure to the players. For the first time in the last decade, the top performers of the Sher-e Punjab league have been picked to play a five-match international friendly series against hosts Namibia. Last November, the Punjab team won Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy, their first national title after 1993.

Not only players, but representatives of the PCA are also getting recognition in international cricket. Khanna is perhaps the youngest representative of the association who bagged the honour of being the manager of the Indian T20 World Cup team, which recently won the title under the captainship of Rohit Sharma.

Vikram Rathour, who had coached the Punjab team in the domestic circuit, was the batting coach of the same T20 World Cup winning squad. Under his venture, the Indian team finished as runners-up in the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.