Harmeet Singh quits playing for Mumbai to play in the United States

It seems India’s domestic cricketers are moving to play cricket in the United States of America (USA) due to lack of opportunities in their homeland. The latest cricketer to make this move is left-arm spinner, Harmeet Singh. He has signed a three-year contract with the Major Cricket League (MCL) and is going to play for Seattle Thunderbolt.

Harmeet was part of the World Cup-winning Under-19 team of 2012 under the leadership of Unmukt Chand. His then skipper had recently quit his dream of representing India and is in the USA playing MCL. Speaking about Harmeet, he had represented his state team Mumbai in 31 first-class games where he has picked 87 wickets to go with 733 runs.

The 28-year-old felt lack of cricket in Mumbai coupled with good money in MCL made him shift to the USA. “I retired (in July) because I wasn’t getting to play for Mumbai, which is my home team. I’m getting good money to play cricket here, which gives me a sense of security. The level of cricket is good too,” Harmeet told Times of India.

Lack of opportunities is the biggest regret to shift to the USA: Harmeet Singh

Harmeet further opined that he is optimistic about playing cricket for the USA in near future. “If you stay in the US for 30 consecutive months, you qualify to play for the US national cricket team. I’ve completed 12 months, so 18 are left. By the beginning of 2023, I should be eligible to play international cricket for the US. By then, I would be 30. For a spinner, that’s prime-age,” he said.

The 28-year-old made his debut for Mumbai way back in 2009, but unfortunately, the lack of game time made him make the switch. He also felt he was not offered one full season to showcase his skills.

“I made my debut for Mumbai back in 2009 but never got one full season to prove myself. Still, till 2017, I kept pursuing my dream to play for Mumbai. Basically, in almost a decade, I got to play just nine games for Mumbai. I didn’t even get an opportunity to fail! I was never given a chance to prove myself,” he rued.