After a long and winding journey towards achieving his family’s dream, Harpreet Bhatia finally reached international cricket — and in a different country, too.
“My father wanted to play, my brother wanted to play,” Harpreet said. “My brother was a better cricketer than me, but I was the one from my family who got the chance.”
“All my family wanted me to play cricket for India. Unfortunately, I haven’t. But I played all the leagues and the top level of Indian cricket.
“All that was missing was representing the nation. I have got the opportunity here, and I am playing for UAE now.”
It was a dream first hatched the same way as millions of other aspiring cricketers in India.
“I started playing cricket with a plastic ball with my dad and my brother,” Harpreet said.
“At my house, we had a stump in the wall. That is one of my favourite memories in my life; how I started out in cricket.”
That was a world away from where he ended up 25 years later. Back in April, aged 34, he was handed his first cap for the UAE on tour in Nepal.
A mere four months before, he had still been playing domestic cricket in India. The switch of allegiance was startlingly rapid.
He did not qualify for his new country under any of the usual criteria. He was born in Madhya Pradesh, not the UAE.
He had no family connections to the Emirates, and had scarcely lived there for three months, let alone the three-year residency that qualifies cricketers to represent an adopted country.
But the left-handed batter was one of the first cricketers to be granted UAE citizenship, rendering him eligible immediately.
He had first been approached two years ago while still in India, but didn’t feel the time was right. This time around, he was ready.
“I got a call from the coach [Lalchand Rajput], and felt like this was the best time to go out and play for the other country,” Harpreet said of his decision to make the switch.
“Playing for India or for another country, when I was in Nepal standing for the national anthem, it was something special.
“Whether you play for India, or the UAE, it feels the same.”
He acknowledges that the chance to represent the country is “something very special”, even if foregoing what he had in India was difficult.
“I spoke with my whole family, but my father was the first person who supported me always,” Harpreet said.
“He was the one who said, ‘You should take this opportunity’. I took three or four days to make the decision, because I was in an ongoing tournament [Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a domestic T20 competition in India] at the time, so it was not the right time.
“I played one List A game for Uttar Pradesh, then that was the moment I felt, ‘OK, I should go to the UAE now'.
“I was emotional, because I had played 17 or 18 years in India. It was a challenging decision in my life, but I have got a very good opportunity here to play for the country. Representing the UAE is something very special in my life.”
Having an oven-ready player with Harpreet’s experience is undoubtedly a boost for the national team, as they bid to climb off the bottom of the one-day international standings.
He was part of the Indian Premier League for seven years, with four different teams, during which time he rubbed shoulders with some of the game’s biggest stars.
“It was great experience; what I have learnt from my past in the IPL, I am using it now. It is working for me,” he said.
“I have shared the dressing room with so many big cricketers – Virat [Kohli], AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle. You can learn from their body language, the way they speak, the way they walk, the way they think."
“You take those small things and try to build them into your game.”
During his one season at Royal Challengers Bangalore, he was able to seek the counsel of the great Kohli.
“I had a chat with him,” Harpreet said. “He just had a simple thought in his mind; just work hard, then things will come automatically.
“Even [players of Kohli’s stature] just have to work hard. But their body language is different to other players. It is something great.”
The lack of an extended run of games in the IPL has left Harpreet with regrets about unfulfilled promise.
“The IPL is a high-risk game for batsmen,” he said. “I feel we have to play a full season of 14 games, and that is the only chance you have to represent your country from there.
“I had one or two chances in every season, so didn’t get a proper chance. If you play 14 games in one IPL season, there is a very good chance to represent your country from there.”
Now he has finally graduated to the international game, albeit in the tier below the elite, and wants to make up for lost time.
He turns 35 on August 11, the same day the UAE play the last match of their Cricket World Cup League Two (CWCL2) tri-series in Scotland against Canada.
Although his late start means his time in international cricket might not be long, he says he wants to make an impression while he is here.
“I don’t think much about the future,” Harpreet said. “I am the type of person who likes to stay in the present. I am not thinking very [far ahead] but we have a big target right now which is to qualify for the World Cup.
“We have 12 games left [in CWCL2]. We are looking forward to playing as a team and trying to win all the games, which is possible because we have a very good team.
“We played very good cricket in Nepal, the team is shaping up very well. We are very excited for the next series in Scotland.”
