Mahinder Pal Singh- first ever Pakistani Sikh cricketer

It will be a day to remember for Mahinder Pal Singh as he becomes the first ever Sikh player to play domestic cricket in Pakistan. He was picked for a fast bowler’s camp organized by the PCB (Pakistan cricket board). Mahinder Pal Singh turned out to play for Candyland team in Patrons trophy Grade 2 tournament.

The 21 year old Sikh lad said that he felt out of the world when he first received a call from Candyland manager Basalat Mirza to play for the team. Mahinder had also appeared in various talent hunt programmes of Candyland in 2015. Belonging to a minor 20,000 strong sikh community in Pakistan, Mahinder Pal Singh lives in Nankana Sahib which is around 100 kilometers to the west of Lahore. He was first picked as a promising medium pacers at a camp organized by PCB in Multan in November 2015.

Mahinder is the son of Harjeet Singh who himself is a doctor. The pacer said that his father supported him a lot after being selected for the PCB camp. Mahinder will now play against a few top teams like Port Qasim Authority and State Bank as these teams have been relegated from the premiere tournament. Mahinder is eager to play and expects a lot to learn from such top teams and players.

The young bowler aims to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) which had a successful final in Lahore and has started gaining popularity. He hopes to be among the emerging players list in the next PSL to get noticed. Inspite of being a pharmacy student in Punjab University, he has given more time to cricket. Mahinder also added that he never faced any hindrances due to religion. He also cited the example of Danish Kaneria, one of former bowlers for Pakistan who represented the nation in spite of being a Hindu. Mahinder also received encouragement from PCB chief Shaharyar Khan when he visited Multan.