CHANDIGARH, MAY 16: At a time when the Indian cricket team is in the spotlight at the World Cup in England, former Chandigarh-based Test cricketer Yograj Singh is playing hide and seek with the police. The charge: He allegedly sheltered Manu Sharma in his Panchkula house on the city's outskirts after Manu allegedly killed model Jessica Lal in the Capital last fortnight.Yograj Singh, still in his forties like his contemporary, Haryana hurricane Kapil Dev, is known to be short-tempered by most of his close friends. As a cricketer, he is regarded in the cricketing circles as one of the most feared pace bowlers of his time. But by all accounts, he has been a wasted champ, primarily due to his lack of consistency and unpredictable nature.``He could pick up a fight at the slightest provocation,'' says a cricketer. He never got along with the Haryana Cricket Association which was probably why he could represent the country in only one Test match in the early 80s', when India played 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 skills. 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 match against Delhi held at Ferozeshah 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 in Bollywood for a role without success.'' He, however, acted in over 100 Punjabi films, mostly as a villain. Some of his friends say he tried to play out his act on reel in real life which affected his social st-anding. Yograj was also known to be imprudent in his financial dealings.Whenever he took time off from acting and came to the city, he was seen giving youngsters cricket tips at DAV College here. Yograj is also the college cricket 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 the under-19 team. 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.
