An IPL Champion at just 17, Harmeet Singh recounts his memorable journey 

Harmeet Singh Bansal, the Jodhpur-born cricketer is an example of a young domestic product who played the Indian Premier League at a young. His medium-pace bowling proved to a thorn in the side of many opponents during his stint in the league.

He was a part of the now-defunct Deccan Chargers till 2011 before making the switch to Kings XI Punjab. He took cricket as his profession at the age of 15 and has represented Punjab at under-17, under-19, under-22 levels.

Sportskeeda caught up with the cricketer for an exclusive interview. Here are some of the excerpts:

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Q. What convinced you to choose cricket as your career?

My father is a retired Air Force Officer. He was posted in Adampur, Punjab where we all kids used to play gully cricket in evenings. One of my Dad’s junior officers (Mr Anurag Rai) noticed me playing pretty well and adviced my dad to put me into professional cricket. My dad shifted me to Mohali where it all started in 2002.

Q. Having been a part of the Indian Premier League since 2009, you must know everything about it from scratch. So what do you think about the Indian Premier League?

IPL is a great platform for youngsters where they get to show their talent in front of the whole world. They get to learn so much from the international players which help improve their game both physically and mentally.

Q. How was it to be a part of title-winning side Deccan Chargers in 2009?

Being part of the winning IPL side in 2009 was very very special. Being at the bottom of the points table in 2008 and finishing as the champions in 2009 was icing on the cake. Though 2009 was my first season in IPL, I never expected that I would get to play many games and really contribute to winning the championship.

Q. You have always been highly regarded by Adam Gilchrist. How is he as a person? What does he tell you?

You get short of words when you speak about Adam Gilchrist. I was so excited to play alongside him when I was picked in Deccan Chargers. I met him the first time in South Africa in our IPL camp prior to the tournament. I was pretty nervous to go to him and speak. The legend himself walked up to me and spoke to me about my cricketing career, my family and many other things which brought my nerves down and settled me. Adam Gilchrist is a gem of a person who loves to converse with youngsters and help them in their game.

He always used to tell me to keep working hard and keep backing my slower balls which actually got me a lot of wickets in IPL. He used to keep telling me about how and where to ball to a particular batsman from behind the stumps.

I would like to mention an instance about Adam Gilchrist here. We played against Delhi Daredevils at Delhi in 2011 where I got the man of the match. Unfortunately, there was no man of the match trophy in that game. On the way back to the hotel from the ground, I said casually in a very jolly way to Adam Gilchrist that this was my 1st Man of the Match (MOM) and I didn’t even get the trophy.

The next game we played against RCB in Bangalore in which Adam Gilchrist was the man of the match. After the match, we all went to the hotel late night around 12 am. There was a knock at my hotel room at around 12.30 am. I opened the door and saw Adam Gilchrist with his MOTM trophy saying ‘This is for you Mate’. This gesture shows the character and generosity of Adam Gilchrist and shows what it takes to be a legend.

Q. What were your hopes when you played for Kings XI Punjab under Adam Gilchrist for the second times?

Hopes were to win the IPL for Kings XI Punjab which unfortunately we could not.

Q. What do you think is needed to become a cricketer?

Utmost hard work, sincerity, passion and ‘give your everything’ attitude is very important not just to become a cricketer but for everything if you need to succeed in your respective field.

Q. It is aptly said that great understanding with coaches brings the best result. What would you like to say about that?

I absolutely agree that great understanding with coaches brings the best results. The coach knows your weak and strong points which he knows exactly when and where to use/not use which helps you improve your game day by day.

Q. What do you think about the Indian team's recent performances?

Indian team has been excellent in recent times in all formats. All the youngsters have been brilliant in contributing to the team. Each player knows the importance of representing the country and to perform consistently. If players perform consistently then the team automatically does well.

Q. Which is the most memorable moment in your career?

There have been lots of memorable moments in my career. From being picked up in the IPL, bowling to Sachin Tendulkar to taking wickets of legends like Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, Jaques Kallis etc.

Q. Tell us about your family and childhood.

My dad is a retired air force officer and now working as a health coach and helping people improve their health and wellness. I lost my mother in 2017. She was a B.Ed graduate and used to teach in schools until dad was in service. She also became a health coach and used to accompany dad after his retirement. I have an elder sister who is married to a banker. I am married to a gorgeous woman for 5 years now and have a beautiful 2 years old daughter. I am working as an Inspector in the GST department as well.

My childhood has been quite different from the usual. My dad being in the services used to keep getting transferred in 2-3 years so we also had to accompany him where ever he went. I have spent my childhood in Rajasthan, Delhi and Gujarat and kept changing schools. It is in class Xth where my dad shifted me to Mohali to pursue my cricketing career.

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