Mumbai, Mar 26: 27-year-old Vikram Raj Vir Singh is back on the domestic circuit with a bang. The fast-bowler, who claimed a four-for in the quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh, had claimed two wickets in the pre-quarter-final against Assam. After about a two-year layoff due to back surgery, the Punjab bowler is back in action and in good form. He spoke about his journey back to cricket after the win against MP.
Excerpts:
On his comeback
It feels good. I have had a bad two-and-a-half years because of injury. The beginning was good; [I was playing well] from the first game and today also I bowled well. Hopefully I will keep bowling well and keep improving my fitness. I hope to grab whatever opportunity I get in the future.
On whether this was his first outing since the surgery
After 2010 IPL, this was my first outing in close to two years. I had back surgery in Sydney at the end of 2010 then went into rehab for almost six to seven months. After six months in Sydney, I came back to Punjab and continued with the exercises and gradually got fit to play.
On whether his pace was back to what it was earlier
I am enjoying bowling in Mumbai. The last time I played here, I had played in the Duleep Trophy and had got ten wickets. At the moment I am enjoying the surface because there is bounce here. The more I play, the more pace and bounce I will get. But I don’t think my pace has reduced much after the surgery; it’s still the same.
On bowling with Manpreet Gony
Gony has been bowling well for Punjab and also in the IPL. We are like brothers. We live in the same city so we discuss a lot of things including cricket. I am happy that we are bowling together. The last time we bowled together it was in 2008 and after that we bowled today and got seven wickets between us. If someone is picking wickets from the other side, [it motivates you and] you also want to take wickets.
On Mumbai’s batting lineup
We will talk about it in the team meeting. We know Mumbai is a good team and they play all three formats very well. They have players like Abhishek Nayar and Wasim [Jaffer] bhai. We also have a good young team and a good captain in Harbhajan Singh [...] We will try to win the game.
On how he kept himself motivated during his injury layoff
I decided to go in for surgery because I wanted to play again. After surgery I never thought that I wouldn’t play cricket. I always had it at the back of my mind that I wanted to make a comeback and play cricket. The good thing is I gave myself time to recover and did not hurry back. I started bowling in mid November [2011]. In January [this year] I started playing matches like club cricket in Chandigarh or for Punjab and North Zone. After I played some 15-20 games, they picked me for playing for the Punjab side in Twenty20 matches.
On support from family and others
I think family support was the main thing. I have a good friend, Surjit Singh, in Sydney who supported me a lot. Also, the physiotherapist Patrick Farhad supported me a lot. When I came back to India, everyone was nice to me and everyone wanted me to play again for Punjab and my association was also keen for me to get fit, so this happened. I used to also talk to Bhajji [Harbhajan Singh] and Yuvi [Yuvarj Singh]; they are local colleagues so they would meet up. They were also keen that I become fit soon and play.
On whether he was disheartened at not being picked by an IPL franchise
I was not expecting it at that time. If a player has not played for more than two years then no franchise is going to pick them. [...] Things will get better. I wasn’t depressed. I would have been depressed if I hadn’t undergone the surgery. I am happy that I am back to normal. I am not thinking about anything right now. After the surgery I have become mentally tougher. As a fast bowler when you undergo surgeries, it is tough [...]
On whether injuries keep playing on his mind
As a fast bowler you know that you might get injured but if you keep thinking about it, you are never going to play again.
On whether he had changed his action since his return
Yes, I have changed it a bit – my back-foot landing. [...] Earlier I used to not think much but after the surgery I thought that if I slightly modify it to a front-on from side-on [action], then it might help make my follow-through easier and it might not [put too much pressure] on the lower body. I tried it in Chandigarh and it was getting better. I am still working on it and hopefully by the middle of this year I will get there.
