Harbhajan Singh launches Cricket Academy at Togan Village

04/15/2018

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has launched a cricket academy in partnership with Mahesh Inder Singh Sodhi and former Indian all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi at the Togan village near Mullanpur in Punjab. Apart from that, he appears to be confident that CSK can lift the trophy this year.

Infrastructure is something which can take the small city talent to a different level. On Saturday, during the launch of a cricket academy newly opened by Mahesh Inder Singh Sodhi and his son former Indian all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi, India's 2011 world-cup winning star emphasised on this very certain point. Harbhajan also felt that despite creating superstars like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab’s grassroot-level cricket is still lagging behind.

“These days, very few kids are coming out to play outdoor games. We need to encourage them and we have to create better infrastructure. In Punjab, sports infrastructure is lacking. We need more academies like these to come up. These facilities can be in the government or the private sector. From government side too, something has to be done so that more and more kids are encouraged to play. There is no dearth of talent in Punjab,” Harbhajan said.

The veteran off-spinner, who took 400 Test scalps playing for India, has joined Chennai Super Kings this year after his 10 years journey with Mumbai Indians. Last year’s IPL was not as successful as it used to be for the off-spinner as he could only manage to pick 8 wickets from 11 matches that he played.

Speaking about IPL and his new team CSK, Harbhajan said, “Hopefully, we can lift the trophy for Super Kings. I am looking forward to playing for Chennai Super Kings. We have played two matches and I will try to contribute for Chennai Supers Kings as I did for Mumbai Indians in the past. IPL is all about bringing the talent out. A lot of talent has come up, not for India, but even for other countries as well. So it is a great platform. We will see a lot of U-19 players and they will do well in the years to come.”

Former Indian all-rounder Reetinder Sodhi, who was also part of the ICC U-19 World Cup winning Indian team in 2000, also hoped that youngsters will benefit from his experience.

“My father Mahesh Inder Singh started his academy in Patiala in 1999. He has coached cricketers like Jiwanjot Singh and Mayank Markande. He wanted to train youngsters in this region and we hope more national and international level cricketers will come from this city,” 37-year-old Reetinder Sodhi, who played 18 ODI’s for India.

Harbhajan Singh launches Cricket Academy at Togan Village

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