Taking time off: Ex-cricketer is having a ball with family

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 7

Former India medium pacer Harvinder Singh had tested positive for the virus last month. Home quarantined for two weeks, after his recovery he is devoting time to his children as commitments to the game in past hadn’t allowed the space.

He retired from active cricket in 2009, however, he was asked to look over as a coach. “For this, I had to remain out of the house and town for nearly seven months earlier.” He had been the bowling coach of Punjab senior Ranji Trophy team and head coach of the senior Ranji Trophy team of the Railways for four years. Prior to 2009, similar duration was consumed in practicing and playing tournaments.

So, spending some quality time with family is all he wants to do nowadays. His two blossoming children, a 16-year old daughter Parneet Kaur and an 11-year old son Kunwar Partap Singh, get enveloped in joy and their faces exuberate every time they listen to the tales of various captivating matches from his playing days. Meanwhile, his wife, Kamalpreet Kaur, is a commerce lecturer at the Khalsa College for women and takes care of their studies.

Harvinder has donned the national shirt in 16 ODIs and three Test matches for four years since 1997. His best bowling figure in ODIs was 42-3 against Pakistan in Toronto. He has played 109 first-class Ranji matches for Punjab.

Meanwhile, he was appointed as a national selector by the BCCI in March. Apart from him, there are four other selectors, including Bengaluru’s Sunil Joshi, chairman of the committee, Mumbai’s Jatin Paranjpe, West Bengal’s Devraj Gandhi and Delhi’s Sarandeep Singh.