Karachi: Mahinder Pal Singh on Tuesday became one of the very few Sikh cricketers to play in Pakistan’s domestic competitions as he turned out for Candyland team in a Patrons Trophy Grade-2 tournament.
Mahinder is perhaps the first Sikh to play domestic cricket in Pakistan although unverified information suggests that another Sikh cricketer, Gulab Singh did appear in two or three Grade-2 matches some years ago and then disappeared.
“I am so excited to get this opportunity to play the Patrons Trophy Grade-2 competition. I took two wickets in the first innings but unfortunately had a groin strain so could not bowl in the second innings,” Mahinder said at the State Bank ground here where his team faced favourites Karachi Port Trust.
Mahinder, 21, said he was over the moon after getting a call from Candyland manager Basalat Mirza to play in the competition.
“I had appeared in a talent hunt programme of Candyland in 2015 and they remembered me,” he said.
Mahinder belongs to the tiny 20,000 strong Sikh community in Pakistan. He belongs to Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, which is some 100km west of Lahore.
He first hit the headlines when he was picked as a promising medium pacer for an emerging players camp organised at the PCB High Performance centre in Multan last November.
“My father, Harjeet Singh who is a doctor, has supported me a lot specially after last year I was in the headlines for becoming the first Sikh to be selected for the PCB camp. He is now very proud of me having made it to the domestic competitions,” Mahinder said.
The Patrons Trophy Grade-2 tournament this year is a tough competition as the winner will qualify for the Quaid-e-Azam first class competition. This year, some of the top first-class teams like Port Qasim Authority, ZTBL and State Bank are participating in it having been relegated from the premier tournament.
“I will learn a lot after playing against such top teams and players. Hopefully I will become a much better player. I already feel the expectations of becoming the first from my community to reach this level of competition,” Mahinder said.
