Baltej finds his calling in cricket

Having being the right half of his Punjab state hockey team for much of his career as a sportsperson,21-year-old Baltej Singh would have well been justified to shrug off a friends advice to switch that game for cricket. However his decision to make that switch three years ago however proved to be a blessing in disguise for the 21-year old Ludhiana lad. Indeed says Baltej,had he not taken that suggestion seriously,he wouldn’t have had the meteoric career rise that he has experienced having already represented Punjab’s Ranji Trophy team. The selectors showed enough faith in him,featuring him in the squad in the final couple of matches of Punjab’s campaign. Currently representing Punjab in the U-22 level,the right arm pacer once again proved his worth,returning figures of 3/38 on a placid Kotla track,reducing the hosts to 133/4 in reply to his own side’s first innings total of 424.

Recollecting his early days,Baltej says that while hockey was his primary sport,he would play cricket in the local village tournaments as a past time. However his initiation to cricket on the request of his friend proved to be inspired as he represented his school almost immediately at the national level. Ludhiana adopted him into their cricketing set-up and soon he had found a spot in the state U-19 squad. In 2009 he wrecked havoc in the U-19 Cooch Behar and the Vinoo Mankad Trophy scalping 51 wickets to find a spot in the probables for the U-19 world Cup held at New Zealand in 2010.

While Baltej doesn’t play much hockey now,he still credits it to his current success. “I believe that my hockey career took care of my fitness. The occasional club cricket match I played would helped me improving my skill,” says Baljeet. His focus now is completely on cricket. “Now that I have a chance,I will look to make the best out it,as this is something my parents like to see me doing,” he says with a smile.