Punjabi films loss, cricket’s gain

Coaching is nothing unusual to him. In fact, Yograj, who studied at the local DAV College, has been the college team’s coach since ’82. “I wanted to repay my due to the college and there could not have been a better way than that,” he informed. Going by the string of cricketers he has produced from the college, his stint can only be described as awe-inspiring. Yograj Singh, a tearaway fast bowler in his hey days, played one Test match for the country against New Zealand during the ’80-81 twin tours to Australia and New Zealand, apart from seven one day internationals. It was a rare honour for the city that the new ball pair of Yograj and Kapil Dev were products of the Cricket Stadium here.

“There is a burning desire in me to see Test players from Chandigarh. We have the talent and I can assure you, once we streamline everything, this dream is not far off. I will be happy if four-five of my trainees play Ranji Trophy in the next three-four years,” he said.

This will be a challenge for him as he has a batch of 20-22 trainees in the age group of 12-17. But, Yograj, never one to shy away from challenges says,“I am afraid but most of them are physically not up to the mark. I am working on that aspect as physical conditioning has a very important role to play in modern day cricket. You will be pleased to know that some of them have shown tremendous improvement and if they work like this my apprehensions will be cleared,” he informed.

In fact, Yograj has already planned bigger things. “I have talked to the Finance and Sports Secretary, UT Administration N S Kang and we plan to have a cricket academy on the lines of the ELF-Lubricants Academy in Mumbai which Dilip Vengsarkar runs. In fact Vengsarkar will be here shortly alongwith Makrand Waigankar (reputed cricket critic) and we will then chart out the details. The DAV College authorities are very keen on that thing. The signs are encouraging from every quarter but I don’t want to push things quickly,” Yograj said.

“Cricket with me is through the hard way. I don’t want to sit and relax on laurels but induce a sort of cricket culture in the stadium. The boys should understand the game by playing it, talking about it and discussing it. They should be mentally focussed on the game,” he said, which does not sound surprising as DAV College players will vouch for. “I need the support of all. Coaches and players should come forward and maybe visit the boys. They have to pass on their knowledge,” he further said.

One thing, Yograj would have to cut down on, is acting in Punjabi films. “It will be tough but I hope it does not clash with each my cricket assignments,” Yograj promised.