Simranjeet Singh aims to make up for lost time after realising dream of international cricket with UAE

Sikh spinner debuted a week after his 35th birthday but is now an integral member of national team, who return to action in the Netherlands

Having just celebrated his 35th birthday, Simranjeet Singh must have feared the international cricket career he had always craved had passed him by.

Nearly four years earlier, he had already given up on trying to crack Ranji Trophy domestic cricket in India, and had looked for ways to make a living from the game elsewhere.

It was Covid times, and cricket had dried up in the state of Punjab. So the left-arm spinner travelled from his home in Ludhiana to the UAE instead, and picked up some matches.

He impressed, and the boss of one of the domestic club sides he played for arranged to convert his visa into a permanent one, on the proviso he represent the staff cricket team.

The matches continued and, when he went up against UAE national team players, he found he could more than hold his own.

Still, recognition had to be forced as much as earned. He found out where the national team were training, and approached the coach, the former India Test player Lalchand Rajput.

UAE's Aayan Khan with new left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh, right, as the national team trains for their tour of Netherlands at the ICC Academy in Dubai. All Photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

Left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh made his debut for UAE after turning 35

Simranjeet Singh moved to the UAE from India hoping to play regular cricket and quickly moved up the ranks to realise his dream of playing international cricket

Simranjeet Singh trains for UAE's tour of Netherlands, which is part of the Cricket World Cup League Two

Simranjeet Singh during an ILT20 Development Tournament match last year between Gulf Giants and Thunderbolts

UAE's Simranjeet Singh bowls at the ICC Academy in Dubai

“On my first day here, I spoke to [Rajput], and said, ‘Sir, I am a spinner, I have completed my three years [residency qualification to be eligible to play international cricket] here and play A Division cricket – can you just check me out, and tell me what you think?’” Simranjeet said.

“He said, ‘OK, just wait five minutes and in the next round you can come and bowl.’ He gave me an opportunity in the nets, and felt good about me.

“He invited me back the next day, so I came back and after that he said I could continue joining their camp. The fact the bowlers were impressed with my bowling made me confident.”

Simranjeet was kept on to bowl in the nets, and bolstered the ranks whenever there were practice matches. He discovered he was becoming a permanent fixture in the training squad.

Then, last November, they made it official: he was called into the team for a regional T20 World Cup qualifier in Qatar, and debuted a week after turning 35.

“You know when you are bowling well and think you have a chance,” Simranjeet said.

“After that, sir told me I would be going in the team. I had been waiting for that moment for 18 or 19 years. When he announced the name of Simranjeet Singh in the 14-man squad, it was like a dream for me.

“I had goosebumps and was thinking, ‘Seriously? Now I am in an international team?' It was a proud and emotional moment for me and my family.”

He said he was lost for words when he told his news to those closest to him.

“I went home and was on a video call with my family,” he said.

“There are four of us in our family – mum, dad, sister, and me – and we were all in separate places. No one was sitting together.

What I saw from him is a typical left-arm spinner, putting more revolutions on the ball, giving flight, and beating the batsmen in the air

UAE coach Lalchand Rajput

“The video call started, and I couldn’t speak any words. I had been given my kit, so I just showed my UAE helmet on the screen, and everyone started crying.

“They had also all been waiting since 2006 for this moment. In those years, I had not been earning any money. They had been paying for me – my sister, my mum, everybody – as I had not been working in India until I got here.

“I wasn’t earning, I was just playing cricket for seven or eight hours per day, practicing. I was easily doing 40-50 overs in practice every day. So for me to bowl 15 or 20 overs, that is an easy task.”

In accordance with his Sikh faith, Simranjeet has never cut his hair or his beard, and he is proud to represent his religion as an international cricketer.

He is grateful to Rajput, as well as Harbhajan Singh Kala, his first coach back home in Ludhiana, for helping him reach this point.

Rajput, for his part, believes he can be an asset for the national team, both now and in the future.

“As a left-arm spinner, the more revolutions he gives is what struck me,” Rajput said.

“Most bowlers here have played T20 and T10, so they try to bowl the ball a little bit flatter. They want to contain the batters and are not bowling to take wickets.

“What I saw from him is a typical left-arm spinner, the type we see in India, who are putting more revolutions on the ball, giving flight, and beating the batsmen in the air.

“He has a lot of variations as well because he has a good arm ball. I think we have to back such players, and he has done exceptionally well.

“He never wants to give up at any time. He is always saying, ‘Sir, I will bowl at this stage.’ That is a good sign. He is not afraid of getting hit.”

Simranjeet will face the biggest challenge of his fledgling international career to date on tour in Amsterdam this month.

The national team return to Cricket World Cup League Two action when they face Scotland and the Netherlands – perhaps the two strongest sides in it.

“When you play against the best, only then will you come to know where you stand,” Rajput said.

“If you are playing against the best team and you do well, then the sky is the limit.

“You must always aim to be the best, and that is the attitude we are trying to get across.

“I come from Mumbai in India, and cricketers in Mumbai have the attitude that you must never give up at any time, until the last run is scored and the last wicket is taken.”