Feared for his pace bowling, bad temper

“He could pick up a fight at the slightest provocation,” says a cricketer. This could be one of the reasons why he could not get along well with the officials of the Haryana Cricket Association. The consequence: he could represent the country in only oneTest match in early 80s’ when India went to play against Australia and New Zealand.

Yograj started playing cricket in the early ’70s. He studied at St. John’s High School in Sector 26 and then shifted to DAV School in Sector 8, where he honed his cricketing skill. He later went to DAV College in Sector 10. He represented Haryana in the Ranji Trophy initially, but after the Test match Down Under, he changed his affiliation to Punjab Cricket Association and represented Punjab in Ranji Trophy till he called it a day.

“In his last Ranji Trophy match against Delhi held at Feroze Shah Kotla in 1981-82, he took five wickets,” recalls a teammate. When Yograj could not make it big in cricket, he moved to acting. Says a friend: “He first appeared in a documentary in the early ’80s. A great fan of Shammi Kapoor, he also queued up at Bollywood for a role but without any success.” He, however, acted in over 100 Punjabi films, mostly as a villain.

Some of his friends say that he tried to play out his act on thereel in real life, which was looked down upon and affected his social standing. Yograj was also not too prudent in his financial dealings.

However, whenever he took time off from acting and came to the city, he was seen with youngsters at the DAV College here, giving cricketing tips. Yograj is also the college team’s coach. Recently, he became an honorary coach with the city’s Sports Department. “But he was hardly seen on the field, given his involvement with acting,” says a Sports Department official.

Yograj’s two sons also play the game their father was so closely associated with. The elder, Yuvraj, recently represented India in under-19. The younger son, Zorawar Singh, however, is yet to make a mark. Recently, Yograj was nominated as the convener of Chandigarh Congress Committee’s Sports Cell. He has also been instrumental in forming a cricket club, Piccadily XI, backed by the Piccadily Group, owned by Manu Sharma’s family.