Mahinder Pal Singh might be the pioneer of something unprecedented and beautiful in Pakistan cricket. He is one of the handfuls of non-Muslim cricketers to feature in Pakistan’s domestic competitions. And he is now eyeing to take it to the next level. The Sikh cricketer has now set his sight on playing for Pakistan’s international team.
In March last year (2017), Singh plied his trade for Candyland team in a Patrons Trophy Grade-2 tournament. He is reportedly the first Sikh to play domestic cricket in Pakistan.
In an interview with BBC Urdu, Singh said he is proud to get access to practice at Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.
“I am the only club payer or Grade II cricketer in history to practice at NCA. I can come to the Academy for training whenever I wish to and practice under the guidance of NCA coaches,” he said.
Singh hails from Khyber Agency and was selected among the emerging player in 2016.
He further opened up on the support he is receiving despite being a minority in the Muslim-dominated country.
“Nobody stops me from playing because I am a Sikh. In fact, nobody will stop me and I am confident about that,” he said.
He belongs to Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak.
Mahinder’s father migrated from Khyber Agency to Nankana Sahib about 15 years ago. He first grabbed the headlines when he made it to the emerging players camp organised at the PCB High-Performance centre in Multan in November 2016 as a medium pacer.
He is also a student of pharmacy at Punjab University.
However, the promising cricketer gave up studies to focus on his cricket career.
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