A day to remember for Amanjot's dad

Deepankar Sharda

Mohali, February 14

Bhupinder Singh had to close his shop a bit early on Monday evening to watch his daughter Amanjot Kaur in the WPL auction. The 51-year-old, who owns a carpentry shop at Balongi in Mohali, was too excited to work. “I was tense all day but as soon as Amanjot was picked by a team, I rushed to a sweets shop,” Bhupinder said.

Amanjot was picked by Mumbai Indians for Rs 50 lakh. “When I asked her what she would do with the money, she just smiled,” Bhupinder said. “Her simplicity and dedication are the reasons for where she is now. There was a time when she had to wait for months to buy expensive kits due to my financial condition. However, she never complained and continued to train with whatever she had,” he added.

Last month, the 23-year-old all-rounder was named in the Indian team for the T20 tri-series in South Africa. She bagged the Player of the Match award in India’s opening match against South Africa. “She got interested in cricket by watching boys play ‘gully’ cricket. She would often dress like senior cricketers. Even in her free time, she would only watch old matches or some innings by Harmanpreet Kaur,” he said.

Her coach Nagesh Gupta said that initially Amanjot wanted to be a bowler.