He made the biggest cut for city cricket when he represented Mumbai University in a tournament as a teenager. He also delayed his idea of studying further, because he made it to the list of probable players for the Mumbai Ranji Team.
Unfortunately, right arm pacer Vaibhav Singh could not make it to the team. But he has redeemed himself with a mix of pace and swing. His recent spell of three wickets for 21 runs was surprising in the Mumbai T20 League, while his counterparts from other teams are all over the place.
The 26-year old pacer is the only athlete in his family, where dinner table discussions revolve around heated discussions about sports. Vaibhav’s father, who works at Indian Oil moved from Ranchi to the chatter of Mumbai, when Vaibhav was just four.
There is a fastidious reason behind Mumbai’s success in domestic cricket and that is the substance given to school cricket. Unluckily for Vaibhav, in a city where Rizvi School and Don Bosco dominate the scenario, his parents admitted him to Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV), where academics are given a major impetus. “In school, not many were interested in sports. I have always been into sports and not just cricket. It was only after the 10th grade that I joined Ruparel for (junior) college and got a bigger stage to play,” he recalls.
“I played a lot of club cricket and I was eagerly waiting for this league to start so that I can play with more experienced players. Surya (Kumar Yadav) is someone who is very open and does not put much pressure on us as the captain. I had been waiting for such an experience,” adds Vaibhav.
Players like him had been longing for the Mumbai T20 League for a couple of years, but it took a long time to get going. On Mumbai Cricket Association’s part, there were many technical issues, but even these individuals, who could not make a cut in the domestic team, were looking a the tournament as a pathway to move up in the ranks.
Along with being in contention for the domestic squad, Vaibhav delayed his plan to get a degree just for the league. A couple of years ago, the inevitable thought of quitting occurred to him but the hope of a domestic call-up and the commencement of the league stopped him. “At 24 or 25, I was thinking about studying further, but the league was about to get underway and I had a domestic contention. I delayed it and this year I think it is paying off. I am enjoying my time in the league,” he says. “I know the domestic season is over but we can try again after getting highlighted here”
A lad who was born in Ranchi, and grew up idolising lethal pacers like Glenn McGrath and Wasim Akram never copied their style. He believes that his own style will help him more and till now he has proven to be quite a useful pacer, with three wickets in two games, and a team placed in the playoffs.
