Mandeep Singh has been one of Punjab’s longest-serving cricketers. Ever since making his debut back in 2010, he went on to become one of the batting mainstays and eventually led the team to its maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title last year.
But ahead of the forthcoming domestic season, Mandeep has decided to move on to Tripura as a professional player. It hasn’t been easy to end a 14-year-long association with Punjab, but for Mandeep, it’s about reinventing himself and featuring in all three formats.
With the Punjab Cricket Association planning to bring in youngsters for white-ball cricket, Mandeep also missed out on the pre-season tour to Namibia, and after conversations with the association office-bearers, the India international got an indication that going forward, he might not be considered for the limited-overs side.
“I still have enough cricket left in me and I am definitely not dragging myself. I decided to take up the offer from Tripura as I wanted to play in all the three formats,” he told Sportstar on Thursday from Hull.
Currently, the 32-year-old is playing for Hull Zingari Cricket Club in the North Yorkshire Premier League and he believes that this county stint will help him get into the groove ahead of another gruelling domestic season, this time with a new team.
What made you leave Punjab and move to Tripura. How tough was the decision?
I have achieved everything for Punjab and without the support of the Punjab Cricket Association, it wouldn’t have been possible to play for so many years. Be it playing for India or featuring in the Indian Premier League - I achieved everything from my state, so yeah, it was an emotional decision for sure. But I wanted to leave on a high and since we won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, I thought this was the best time to move on.
One of the reasons behind this decision was also the fact that the state association wanted to groom the youngsters and I think I still have enough cricket left in me, so I wanted to continue playing. I remember I was among the top performers in the Yo-Yo test, and this time, I am working harder on my fitness. So, I wanted to play in all three formats and when I got an opportunity to play for Tripura, I took it up. It was a difficult decision because mera poora dil hain Punjab mein and in an ideal scenario, I would have wanted to end my career in Punjab.
Were you asked to give up any particular format and make way for youngsters?
I did get an indication that going forward, I may not be considered for white-ball cricket as they wanted to give more opportunities to youngsters. I spoke to the Punjab Cricket Association secretary Dilsher Khanna as well, and somehow I felt that it would be best to move on. I understand their standpoint as well - with so many youngsters coming in from the state, they want to give everyone a chance - but as I wanted to play all three formats, I took this decision.
You were not even part of Punjab’s pre-season tour to Namibia…
While I completely back the idea of promoting youngsters on such tours as it gives them enough exposure, I was not part of it. And to be honest, those were indications that made me rethink my future with Punjab. That’s when I spoke to the PCA secretary and the coaching director (Harvinder Singh) and they also gave a hint that I wasn’t an automatic choice in white-ball cricket anymore. I did not have a great season with the bat last year and maybe keeping that in mind, the people in the PCA wanted to try out other options.
I have always believed that age is not a huge factor in cricket. If you look at Suryakumar Yadav or Shashank Singh, they all peaked in their early or mid-30s, and I am just 32. I took Surya and Shashank as my inspirations and decided to give it a go with Tripura. It’s sad to leave Punjab, but there are no grudges. I am grateful to the association and also grateful to Bhajju Paa (Harbhajan Singh) and Yuvi Paa (Yuvraj Singh) for always guiding me and pushing me to become the captain.
How did the Punjab Cricket Association react to your decision of moving on?
Of course, the PCA secretary did ask me to reconsider my decision. They told me that I was an obvious choice for red-ball cricket, but I thought it would be wise to stick to my decision. At times going to a new team helps a player since the environment is new. It often motivates one to prove his mettle. It’s the first time that I will be playing for a different state team and I look forward to the challenge.
It’s not easy to be in a situation when your heart tells you to stay back, but the mind says the opposite. How did you overcome the dilemma?
I have gone through this phase, and having played for Punjab for 14 years, it was all the more difficult to reach a conclusion. Once I was convinced that I was not dragging myself and that I have the ability to continue to play in all three formats, I decided to give it a go. If you look at cricket today, age is just a number. Even players who are aged 30 and above often have excellent fitness levels, and over the last few months, I worked hard on that aspect.
This season, I have lost around four to five kg weight, but at the same time, I have lifted more weight during training. So, I am convinced that my body is in the right shape and this time I practised more with the white-ball during the off-season. Playing county cricket has also helped me, and I think all these experiences will help me fare well during the season.
What are your targets with the Tripura team?
Along with me, Jiwanjot (Singh) has also been roped in. Having played together since our junior cricket days, it would be a big advantage to have Jiwanjot around. But I think Tripura is also a gritty side. In the past, every time we played, Tripura always put up a strong fight and over the last two years, the team improved a lot under the leadership of Saha bhai (Wriddhiman Saha). Nobody takes the team lightly, and since it’s a new stint for me, I want to go out of my comfort zone and put in my best efforts.
You have led Punjab for a long time. Has there been any conversation with the Tripura Cricket Association regarding captaincy?
So far, they haven’t told me anything about that. If there’s any such thing, we will discuss and take a call accordingly. As a senior player, I have learned a lot and my aim would be to pass on that knowledge to the team-mates so that we can grow as a unit.
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