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By B.V.Swagath

Yashpal Singh is a prolific run scorer in Indian Domestic Circuit. He plays for Services in the Ranji Trophy Championship. Yashpal is a right handed middle order batsman who can bowl useful medium pace. He is now 24 years old and I am pretty sure if he continues to score runs in a heap, this man would soon become an integral part of the next generation Indian team with already the superstars in the middle order of India into their thirties. Yashpal is an officer in the Indian Navy, so we can expect the kind of discipline, the kind of fighting spirit and the kind of hard work and stamina that is needed to succeed in the International Arena.

Making his First Class Debut against Delhi at the Palam A Ground in Delhi, 2001/02, Yashpal announced his arrival with two half centuries facing bowlers like Amit Bhandari, Sarandeep Singh and Rahul Sanghvi who have all played for India! Hold on your breath, there is something more to Yashpal and that's the fact that he scored a scintillating double hundred in just his 2nd first class game. That double hundred came against a strong Punjab Side. He scored 202 runs facing over 300 balls and add to that 17 fours and 10 sixes which simply reflects this right hander's domination over bowling attacks. Punjab's Pankaj Dharmani had scored a century in both the innings and Yuvraj Singh came up with a crispy fifty, but one man had stolen the limelight away from both those batsmen and it was Yashpal Singh who even got Services the first innings lead. For the record, Services had scored 356 (202 out of those 356 were from Yashpal's bat!) in reply to Punjab's 300. But the homeside still went on to win the match by 118 runs as a fighting partnership between Jasvir and Yashpal ended in a run out of Yashpal by Yuvraj. Well Yashpal Singh has done really well so far in his career notching up six hundreds and 16 fifties and consistency is the name of the game and Yashpal Singh looks to be associated with the C-name.

This 24 year old is now into his fifth season in Indian Domestic Cricket and he has to make full use of his Duleep Trophy chances to the max. It's not that easy because he doesn't often get a good batting position when playing for the North Zone which is dominated by the big lads from Delhi and Punjab. Well it's for the Selectors how they handle this talent and give him the right breaks at the right time. I would like to see Yashpal Singh to work hard on his bowling too... who knows with the kind of strong physique that he has, he could well be India's version of Jacques Kallis! And Mr. More and Co. do have this guy in the A tours to begin with.

Excerpts from the Interview as compiled by B.V.Swagath on December 26, 2005

Yashpal…your batting stats are awesome, they are no fluke considering the fact that you have scored over 2500 runs in 55 inngs at an avg of over 58! What do you have to say about them?

Actually batting stats are ok but in the previous seasons I got to play in the Plate Group and now I am playing in the Elite Group. The teams that we are playing against are really good. It’s good to have a batting average of around 60. To sustain this average is a great challenge and with good bowling attacks around and at the same time with some good wickets to bat on, I think if I can work hard then I can maintain this average.

Many haven’t got the opportunity to see you bat so could you describe Yashpal Singh the cricketer…what kind of a batsman he is?

I can say that he is a hard hitting batsman who can hit the ball anywhere in the park and he is simply good. He can stay at the wicket for a long time too.


A fantastic debut you have had in first class cricket with two solid fifties against Delhi and you were just 21 then. So are you satisfied with how things have been going on with you since then?

I can say that I am not satisfied with the progress. I mean it was a good year for me in 2001/02 smashing two fifties against Delhi and then following that with a double hundred against Punjab at Mohali, it was an awesome season for me then. In the meantime I am working hard on batting and I want to play good cricket.


Now tell us how does one get selected to the Services Ranji Team? This is something many people aren’t aware of.

We have this Inter Services Tournament in Delhi every year between three teams Army, Air Force and Navy. So who scores runs, who takes wickets are considered and that’s how we get picked for Services.


So what was the reason behind playing for Services for you? I am sure you could have got into other sides as well!

Actually I got a job in Navy. I am a Petty Officer presently posted in Mumbai. So with Navy being in Services, I have to play for the Services Ranji Side.


Well I just happened to read that the institutional teams like Railways and Services Cricketers are not paid or looked after by the BCCI, is that true?

It is true…institutional teams like Railways and Services do not get the Television Rights Money that the BCCI earns and gives to the State Associations. It is something like that. And to add that quite a few State Associations are getting sponsors for their teams like you can see that the Hyderabad Ranji Side is sponsored by VST. Nobody has been sponsoring Railways or Services. So it is a problem for us and we are looking forward and working out a solution for it. It’s hard to say how we cope up with all these difficulties but we are working hard and trying to make impact, so something’s going to happen with this team

Fine fine…let’s switch back to Yashpal Singh for a moment, who has/have been the players whom you have looked upon as role models. How was your entry into this sport?

I can say that my favourite cricketer is Sachin Tendulkar but my role model and my idol is Ricky Ponting. I am a big fan of him. Coming to my entry into Cricket, I was born and brought up in Delhi and I had taken all my coaching from the Sonnett Cricket Club in Delhi. Tarak Sinha is my coach, he gave me everything regarding cricket, and he had handled me very well. It’s his hard work that I am here.

 

I got to accommodate two questions from Gary Niblock, an Irish who follows Indian Domestic Cricket very well.

Ok first one is being a heavy scorer in plate, how have you managed to make the transition to elite?

I can say that there is a huge difference between playing in the Plate Group and playing in the Elite Group. The bowlers are really good in the Elite Group and the teams are very hard. So lots of hard work is required to perform in this group but I am confident of doing well. The luck isn’t really going my side this season and I am thinking a lot on my batting also, so I should come up with big scores in this Elite Group also.

And two, did you feel that no matter how well one does in the plate group, one needs to play for an Elite side to be in National contention?

Exactly. You have to play well in this group and work that much harder. Everyone keeps an eye on the happenings of matches played in this group. The Selectors follow these matches keenly so I think this is the best season for me to push hard and play solid cricket.


How was your team’s preparation before getting into this season?

All the boys are working hard on their fitness. We had a coaching camp in the off season everywhere in the Army, Air Force and Navy. We had worked hard and we also played lots of tournaments all over India.

So what are you aiming at in the next few seasons of your cricketing career?

Aim is to wear an Indian Cap and play good cricket for the country. I just don’t want to play just the one or two games here and there but I want to play for a long time. I prefer to get into Test Cricket. I am also concentrating on my medium pace so that it can bring more value to me as an all round cricketer.

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