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Harmeet Singhan ancient India Under-19 World Cup champion, has charted an extraordinary path in cricket, now representing the USA on the global stage. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Harmeet’s journey started with a passion for football, and then switched to cricket when a summer camp revealed his talent. His early days were marked by record-breaking performances in school cricket alongside stars like Rohit Sharma and the guidance of legendary coach Padmakar Shivalkar. Harmeet fondly remembers these formative years as the foundation of his cricketing dreams.
In an exclusive chat with Cricket Times, Harmeet revealed how he has faced numerous challenges for the United States, from adapting to an emerging cricket infrastructure to balancing family life amid a hectic schedule. However, his determination paid off, highlighted by his team’s impressive victory Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024. Reflecting on his IPL stint with Royals of Rajasthan and maintaining connections with his U19 teammates, Harmeet continues to inspire with his resilience and vision for the growth of USA Cricket
Here are some highlights from the interview:
Q: How did your cricket journey begin?
Harmeet: Like any other child in India. I used to play football in my school, I was in St Joseph’s Orlem, Malad and then I grew up until fifth grade playing football, but then I also played cricket in my building and apartments with friends and all that, so that there was a summer camp. that my father put me near our house, so I went there. I like sports and when you play with the real cricket ball it’s different and coaches also said you have talent so you should pursue sports and then without thinking twice I started playing cricket and also changed my school to Swami. Vivekananda, Borivali on Rohit (Rohit Sharma) also studied and cricket was their main sport and then we broke Harris Shield records, that’s where Mr. Dilip Sardesai saw me and in Bombay Jimkhana, so that’s how I started.
Q: Who were your idols growing up?
Harmeet: First he was my coach Padmakar Shivalkar sir and for me the way he picked 600 first class wickets and couldn’t make his international debut that speaks volumes about his class and his perseverance where he never gave up and pursued his career so he is a very good example and again i used to look at a lot of it Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly growing up because you know they are left-handed so yeah like on screen I loved watching Yuvraj and Sourav.
Q: What challenges did you face after moving to the US?
Harmeet: In the USA it was not easy because when I came here there was nothing like what we see now Major League, Minor League, the national setup USA Cricket going well and you know the contracts and all that was not there and also infrastructure, the ‘Dallas stadium that wasn’t there, but we were told that all of this is coming in 3-4 years, it’s 2, 3, 4 years and again I bet and when I went there during COVID it wasn’t there had first class season in India so 2020 so I was like in the meantime I’m not going to do anything I’d rather go and you know look at things whatever and then I liked Seattle so I signed the contract there, they did my Visa and everything and then I moved there with my family.
There were a lot of challenges, I had my kids here so it wasn’t easy for the wife too you know take care because I was always traveling as a coach working so again she chose not to work because the kids were young so all that and then now we moved to Houston because I travel less when I’m domestic and now I’m playing a lot of international franchise cricket so it’s hard on the family. This is the life I’ve always wanted as a cricketer so again, no complaints but you know you’ve got every stage you’re in in life, you’re always going to have a bit of a challenge but again you have to embrace them and find a solution. this
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Q: How did it feel to defeat Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024?
Harmeet: I think from the moment we won that game and not only did we win the game but we went on to give India and South Africa a really tough game so we moved a lot of pieces over there to the cup world and many people. we were surprised to see the talent we have. But if you see after the World Cup, there are a lot of our USA players who have started to get a lot of attention in the franchise, so what I think is that you know the Cricket franchise what it does is rub you with the best with the best. around you and you know you’re making a name for yourself and that only helps you do better.
Also how Afghanistan have been growing in strength and their boys are now confident as one of the best franchise cricketers, so wherever you go, if it’s an Afghan player, they’ll pick him straight away, so I think this is the name we want to receive. and we’re getting it, we’re like there’s a few guys that are getting consistent opportunities, there’s few guys with each other in the Cricket franchise, so I think it’s just going to grow from there and you know how it’s evolving, uh , it’s very exciting and you know now we have like a proper stadium or maybe two proper stadiums but in the next few years if we have a really good infrastructure you know a national center like Australia or any test playing Nation uh for coaching the fast bowlers and everything so I think why not we will have everything then.
Q: Are you still in touch with your U19 teammates?
Harmeet: Yes, from time to time we talk about Vihari (Hanuman Vihari) sent a text message in between, he wanted me to help one of the players from Hyderabad to get to the US and so yes, he has always been kind and Sandeep (Sandeep Sharma) here and there and then Kamal Paasi he is a good friend from the World Cup and after. And even Mandeep Singh he is a good friend I also played World Cup 2010 so yes Sanju (Sanju Samson) I met at the World Cup, Kuldeep (Kuldeep Yadav) I also played with a lot of cricket, Chahal (Yuzvendra Chahal) and all these guys so Axar (Axar Patel) was there in the India U19 team when we went to the Asia Cup, I think one of the tours, I think so, at that time we were all at the same level and playing together and now at least I’m happy that all three of them are playing in india so that is very good.
Q: You were part of Rajasthan Royals in IPL. Tell us about this experience?
Harmeet: it was one of the best and it also became one of the scariest after when all the repair stuff happened, but the best in the sense that I got to share the dressing room with Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson i Ajinkya Rahane and all the stalwarts of world cricket. Brad Hodge was there, one of the best franchise cricketers or best player in the T20 team, so all the experiences I took from there, I’m still trying to use in my career. I wish I had more chances in the IPL but I only had one game so again I wouldn’t say I failed there but if there were enough chances and I failed then that was fine but I wish there were more opportunities with white ball cricket. India
