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Harmeet Singhformer India U19 World Championship champion, has charted a remarkable path in cricket, now represents USA on the global stage. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Harmeet’s journey began with a passion for football and later switched to cricket when his talent was discovered at a summer camp. His early days were marked by record-breaking successes in school cricket alongside stars like Rohit Sharma and under legendary coach Padmakar Shivalkar. Harmeet fondly recalls those formative years as the foundation of his cricketing dreams.
In an exclusive chat with Cricket Times, Harmeet revealed how he faced a number of challenges for USA, from adjusting to the new cricket infrastructure to balancing family life amidst a hectic schedule. However, his determination paid off, highlighted by his team’s stunning victory over Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2024. Looking back on his stint with the IPL Rajasthan Royals and maintaining bonds with his U19 teammates, Harmeet continues to inspire with his resilience and vision for the growth of American cricket
Here are some highlights from the interview:
Q: How did your cricket journey begin?
Harmeet: Just like any other uh kid in India. I used to play football in my school, I was in St Joseph’s Orlem, Malad and then I grew up till class five playing football but then I also played cricket in my building and flats with my friends and all that so there was a summer camp where my dad put me near our house so I went there. I like the sport and when you play with a real cricket ball it’s different and the coaches also said you have talent so you should play the sport and then without thinking twice I started playing cricket and changed my school to Swami Vivekananda, Borivali where is Rohit (Rohit Sharma) was also studying and cricket was their main sport and then we went on to break the Harris Shield record, where I got noticed by Mr. Dilip Sardesai and in the Bombay Jimkhana, so that’s how I started.
Q: Who were your idols growing up?
Harmeet: The first 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 says a lot about his class and his perseverance where he never gave up and continued his career, so that’s a very good example, and again I used to watch a lot Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly growing up because you know you’re 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 domestic organization USA Cricket is doing well and you know the contracts and all that was not there and also the infrastructure, the stadium in Dallas which it wasn’t, but we were told that it will all come in 3-4 years, regardless of 2, 3, 4 years and again I bet and when I went there during the COVID there was no first class season in India, and in 2020. year, so I thought I’m not going to do anything in the meantime, I’d rather go over there and check out whatever it was, and then, uh, I liked Seattle, so I signed a contract there, they made me a visa and everything and then I moved there with his family.
A lot of challenges, I had my children here so it wasn’t easy for my wife to take care either because I was always either traveling, playing, training, working, then she decided not to work again because the children were small, and all that and then we moved to Houston so I travel less when I’m home and now I play international franchise cricket a lot so it’s hard for the family. This is the life I’ve always wanted as a cricketer, so again no complaints, but you know you have to take it with you at every stage of life you’re in, you’re always going to have a bit of a challenge, but again you have to accept them and find a solution to it.
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Q: How did it feel to defeat Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024?
Harmeet: I think from the time we won that game and not only did we win the game but we also gave a very tough game to India and South Africa, so we moved a lot of pieces there in the World Cup and a lot of people were shocked to see the talent that we own. But if you see after the World Cup, uh, there are a lot of our players from the USA that have started to get a lot of attention from the franchise, so what I feel is that you know the Cricket franchise what it does is match the best with the best in and around you and you know that’s when you’re making a name for yourself and it only helps you get better.
The same as how Afghanistan have gone from strength to strength and their guys are now believed to be some of the best franchise players in cricket, so wherever you go, if it’s an Afghan player, they’ll pick him straight away so I think that’s the name we want to get and we’re getting closer to it like there’s a few guys who are getting consistent opportunities there’s a few guys on and off in the uh franchise Cricket so I think it’s only going to grow from here and you know how it’s developing uh it’s really exciting and you know that right now we have like one real stadium or maybe two real stadiums but in the years to come if we have a really good infrastructure you know uh a national center like Australia or any test nation to train fast bowlers and everything so I think why not have all.
Q: Are you still in touch with your U19 teammates?
Harmeet: Yes, we talk Vihara from time to time (Hanuman Vihara) sent a message in between and wanted me to help one of the Hyderabad players to get to the US and yes he was always kind and Sandeep (Sandeep Sharma) here and there and then Kamal Paasi is a good friend from the World Cup back then as well. And even Mandeep Singh is a good friend, I also played the World Cup in 2010, so that Sanja (Sanju Samson) I met at the World Cup, Kuldeep (Kuldeep Yadav) I also played a lot of cricket, Chahal (Yuzvendra Chahal) and all these guys so Axar (Axar Patel) was there in the India Under-19 team when we went to the Asia Cup, I mean one of the tours, I think yes, then we were all at the same level and we played together, and now at least I’m happy that all three of them are playing for India, so that’s very good.
Q: You were part of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. Tell us about that experience?
Harmeet: it was one of the best, and it became one of the scariest later when all the fixing stuff happened, but the best in the sense that I had to share a dressing room with Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane and all the companies of world cricket. Brad Hodge was there, one of the best franchise cricketers or the best T20 team players, so all those experiences I took from there I still try to use in my career. I wish I could have got more chances in the IPL but I only got one game so again I wouldn’t say I failed there but if there were enough chances and I failed then that would be fine but I just wish that there were more chances in white ball cricket India.
