India U-19 opener Harnoor Pannu keen to add sheen to a family cricket portrait

The 18-year-old batter from Punjab wants to emulate Shubman Gill by helping India retain the title at the junior World Cup in the West Indies.

Sitting in his hotel room in Georgetown, Guyana as he waits out the quarantine period, India U-19 team opener Harnoor Singh Pannu has been watching the 2018 U-19 World Cup highlights with role model Shubman Gill slaying the bowlers.

Harnoor Pannu

In the West Indies for the U-19 World Cup starting on January 14, Pannu wants to emulate Gill, and help India defend the title. “Gill paaji was outstanding in 2018. I have been his fan since then. I have been watching him play for Punjab and make waves. Just love his technique and approach. He would score lots of 100s and 200s for Punjab in U-16 and U-19 cricket; that’s when I started following him. I hope I too do well playing for India in the U-19 World Cup and we win the title,” says the 18-year-old, who hails from Chandigarh.

Pannu is part of an India team led by Yash Dhull that is chasing its fifth title going into the 14-team event. The final is on February 5. While an Indian win would only be affirmation of the junior talent available in the country, the team under coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar would be wary of late slip-ups after losing the 2016 final to West Indies and the 2020 title clash to Bangladesh.

Pannu enters the U-19 World Cup after brilliant performances in the recent U-19 Asia Cup victory in the UAE, where he emerged the Player-of-the-Series. Though he did not click in the final against Sri Lanka—he made only five runs—Pannu aggregated 251 runs in the tournament, which included a century (120) against the UAE in the opening game.

“Playing in my first international tournament helped gain confidence. The pitches were good to bat and my mental preparation also helped score runs. I like going after the bowlers and playing attacking shots. I have been told to carry on playing my natural game by the team management. The Asia Cup will definitely help me prepare for the World Cup,” said Pannu, who has been a consistent opening batter.

The preparatory camp organised at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru ahead of the Asia Cup gave a fan moment to Pannu as he could meet Rahul Dravid—the former junior coach has taken charge of the seniors—and VVS Laxman (the new NCA cricket director) there. The junior players also got to interact with Rohit Sharma.

“Rahul sir and Laxman sir were very encouraging, they wished us luck. Meeting them in person was a different experience altogether. Then Rohit sir had a brief chat with the team. The pep talk was fantastic,” says Pannu, who is also being monitored by IPL franchises ahead of the player auctions.

Cricket runs in Pannu’s family. His grandfather Rajinder Singh played Ranji Trophy for Punjab and father Birinder Singh was a Punjab U-19 player. Pannu spent his

initial years in Jalandhar where his father, a presenter with All India Radio, trained him.

“My father installed practice nets at an empty plot near our house. My brother Jasnoor and I would bat for hours,” says Pannu, who moved to Chandigarh as a teenager to train under his uncle, former cricketer Harminder Singh Pannu. In 1989, his uncle Bhupinder Singh junior was Player-of-the-Tournament in the inaugural U-19 Asia Cup in Dhaka.

“Cricket is in our blood. We grew up hearing stories of Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar and were told about the importance of playing in the Ranji Trophy. It was disappointing not to have any U-19 tournament last season due to Covid. There was a lot of uncertainty. I was relieved to get to play U-19 cricket this season,” says Pannu. Jasnoor has been a member of the Punjab U-19 team.

“I feel fortunate to have so many cricketers in the family. I want to take the legacy forward.”