Chandigarh-born Param Uppal to bat for Australia in ICC U-19 World Cup

The youngster was one of the three captains to lead Australia against Sri Lanka in the three-match series in Hobart early this year where he also smashed 210 runs, including a century

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Param’s uncle Bhupinder Singh Uppal and his family pose with photos of his nephew at their residence at Sunny Enclave in Kharar. Jasbir Malhi

Although it has been more than 24 hours since Chandigarh born 18-year-old Param Uppal was named in the Australian U-19 cricket team for the ICC U-19 World Cup in New Zealand, celebrations at the Uppal house at Sector 125 in Mohali have not ended. Param’s father Devinder Singh Uppal migrated to Australia from Mohali in 2003 and his younger brother Bhupinder and his family were overjoyed with Param getting a chance to don the Australian colours in the upcoming World Cup.

“Param was born at Sector 32 GMCH, Chandigarh, and our father Harbhajan Singh, who retired as warrant officer from the Indian Air Force, always wanted all the children to pursue sports along with studies. I and my brother Devinder also played hockey for our school Kendriya Vidyalaya-47 and Devinder played cricket for Panjab University, too, before shifting to Australia. Param’s inclusion in the U-19 Australian cricket team for the World Cup is the biggest news for us and we are eager to see him play. We surely plan to watch him play in New Zealand and will be cheering for him,” gushed 45-year-old Bhupinder, who does business in water treatment in Mohali.

A resident of the Glenwood suburb in Sydney, Param has been making waves in the junior cricket circuit in Australia. The youngster was one of the three captains to lead Australia against Sri Lanka in the three-match series in Hobart early this year where he also smashed 210 runs, including a century. While his father, who was a lawyer in the Punjab and Haryana High Court before shifting to Australia, works in the railways transport department in Sydney, mother Jaspreet teaches at Muirfield High School. On Friday, Param was also adjudged man of the tournament with 370 runs and 10 wickets for NSW Metro in the Australia U-19 ODI Championships.

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“Param last came to India in 2011 and since then, he has been busy attending various camps and team practice. He has not seen a cricket match here yet. But we will surely make him watch an international match next time he comes. We went to the Golden Temple in Amritsar when he came last time and he is also fond of Indian food. He likes paneer and chicken dishes and I am sure he will ask us to make that for him after the World Cup,” said Bhupinder’s wife Satinder, who is a teacher at Vivek High School, Mohali. Param’s selection has also brought cheers to his cousins, 16-year-old Karan Uppal and 14-year-old Jashan Uppal. Karan has played table tennis at the state level and Jashan basketball at the district level.

“Param has been so busy in the last six months that we have not talked over phone. He attended a training camp in Brisbane earlier and we followed his performance in the U-19 championships on internet. He keeps sending us pictures of him training with Steve Smith, who is my favourite cricketer, too,” added Jashan.

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More

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