VOICE OF EX-SERVICEMEN PUNJAB

SPINNER RAJESH HAS SHIFTED TO THE US; BATSMAN SARABJIT IS SLUGGING IT OUT IN DOMESTIC CIRCUIT

Drugs bowled two promising Punjab cricketers over

CHANDIGARH: With Bollywood movie ‘Udta Punjab’ bringing back the focus on drug problem in Punjab, stories of how drugs cut short the promising careers in cricket are coming to the fore.

Sarabjit Singh, who represented India in U-19 cricket team with Virat Kohli, quit drugs twice only to relapse. This is a well documented fact in Punjab cricketing circles. Clean now, Sarabjit is playing in the Punjab interdistrict circuit and harbours the dream of playing for the state, but drug abuse put an early end to former Ranji off-spinner Rajesh Sharma’s career.

Experts say both had the potential to make it to the top. Rajesh played 25 Ranji Trophy matches for Punjab with his last outing in 2007. He showed enough promise to make Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh think of him as his understudy.

Having rubbed shoulders with cricket starts such as Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma at the U-19 level, the career of wicket-keeper-cum-batsman Sarabjit took a slide after falling prey to drugs.

In 2007, both Sarabjit and Rajesh joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and eventually took to drugs as the event got entangled in a controversy. Done with his cricketing career, Rajesh, 31 now, is in the US now.Backed by Sachin Tendulkar and Bhajji, Sarabjit’s T20 exploits helped him earn a year’s contract with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season-3 when he was still using drugs.

“Eventually, I lost the contract due to the drug abuse,” said Sarabjit, who had undergone the drug de-addiction treatment twice since 2010.

“I am clean now. I have seen my family and friends shed tears for me. I am hoping to bag the berth in the Ranji team,” said Sarabjit, who hammered 75 (against Ludhiana) and 44 (against Patiala) in the ongoing Punjab inter-district cricket tournament.

“Thank god both survived. I feel for Rajesh, he had the potential to reach the top, but drugs spoiled his career. Hats off to Sarabjit for making a comeback, but he has wasted some crucial chances,” Harbhajan said, who has seen Sarabjit and Rajesh going through the worst of times.

British digital archive honours six Indian World War-I heroes

London, June 21

Britain has launched a new digital archive telling the inspiring stories of war heroes, including six Indians, as part of the UK government’s centenary celebrations to mark World War I.

As many as 175 men from 11 overseas countries were awarded Britain’s highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross (VC), during the war. These included six soldiers from undivided India who fought in the war as part of the British Indian Army and were honoured in a commemorative plaque presented to India back in 2014.

“Behind every name engraved on the memorial plaques there is a truly remarkable story. It is fitting that we pay tribute to the Victoria Cross recipients from overseas by bringing their stories together in this digital archive,” said Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) minister Hugo Swire.

“By doing so, we are sending a message that these men, and the important role played by their home countries in the First World War, will never be forgotten by the people of the United Kingdom,” he said.

The new Digital Archive was launched by FCO yesterday to chronicle individual biographies of Risaldar Badlu Singh from Punjab, Sepoy Chatta Singh from UP, Naik Darwan Singh Negi and Rifleman Gabar Singh Negi from modern day Uttarakhand, Lance-Daffadar Gobind Singh from Rajasthan, and Lance Naik Lala from Himachal Pradesh. August 2014 marked 100 years since Britain entered the First World War. The digital archive can be accessed through the UK government’s official gov.uk portal. — PTI