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Chandigarh cricketer Harnoor Singh Pannu trusting the process after year of highs and lows
While being denied a spot in the Chandigarh Ranji Trophy team this year, Harnoor played in the U-25 Col CK Nayudu Trophy and scored 652 runs in seven games including twin double centuries
The last one year has been a roller-coaster ride for Chandigarh cricketer Harnoor Singh Pannu. From experiencing the high of being the man of the tournament at the U-19 Asia Cup, being part of the Indian team that claimed the U-19 World Cup, to making his Ranji Trophy debut, to not bagging an IPL contract, the 20-year-old lanky opener went through a learning curve.
While being denied a spot in the Chandigarh Ranji Trophy team this year, Harnoor played in the U-25 Col CK Nayudu Trophy and scored 652 runs in seven games including twin double centuries to take the spotlight.
Eyeing a spot in the India emerging squad for a camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, this is how Harnoor summed up his tumultuous season playing for Chandigarh: “It is disappointing not to bag a place in the Ranji Trophy team when you have already made first-class debut the previous season, but that is not in your hands. The selectors and the association do their job and one has to just keep up the focus and work hard to make a mark.”
The youngster, however, remains optimistic of the future. “Age is on my side and I am not thinking about the season which has ended. In fact, my intensity to train has become more intense and I am eyeing a place in the camp at the NCA for better exposure,” Harnoor, who trains at the Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36, ground under seasoned coach and uncle Harminder Singh Pannu, said.
Cricket runs in Harnoor’s family. His grandfather Rajinder Singh played Ranji Trophy for Punjab and father Birinder Singh was a Punjab U-19 player. In 1989, his uncle Bhupinder Singh Junior was player-of-the-tournament in the inaugural U19 Asia Cup in Dhaka.
Harnoor, alongside Rajangad Bawa, made headlines after strong performances at the U-19 World Cup last year. While Rajangad went on to bag an IPL contract with Punjab Kings, Harnoor wasn’t as lucky.
“It plays with your mind and confidence when most of your peers are getting picked for IPL and you miss out. But then it is also not in my hands. I have had a strong foundation at home. Seeing all my uncles, grandfather and father literally breathe cricket all through their lives, I have not lost hope. Putting behind all the disappointments, I have to look ahead and start from scratch,” the youngster, whose double hundreds came against Bihar (266) and Maharashtra (201), said.
Even though Chandigarh failed to qualify for the Col CK Nayudu Trophy quarterfinals, Harnoor emerged as the highest scorer for the side.
The UTCA senior men’s Ranji Trophy team, meanwhile, has struggled this season. They played seven matches, lost two and drew five and finished last in Elite Group D. Despite the obvious value addition that Harnoor brings to the bench strength, he did not find a space in the squad. The Punjab Cricket Association, on the other hand, rode high on performances by in-form cricketers from their U-25 team en-route the Ranji Trophy knockouts.
Harnoor, who idolises India’s current rage Shubman Gill, however, is trusting the process, “Having trained at the NCA under watchful eyes of trained coaches last year and then having shared my mind with Chandigarh Ranji team captain Manan Vohra paaji on various aspects has helped me. I am practising hard and my coach is helping me work on keeping a positive approach.”
