Meet this famous Punjabi cricketer turned singer

What many know about Harrdy Sandhu would be widely based on his music career and his latest hit, “Naah” featuring Norah Fatehi. However, what most may not know is that the Punjabi singer was once a cricketer. The fact that in a cricket system as competitive and gruelling as India’s, sustaining through consistently is very difficult. Harrdy a.k.a. Hardevinder Sandhu’s story is similar.

His stint as a cricketer was brief but it was enough to make him a well-known face in the Punjabi cricket circuit where he played as a right-handed batsman and as a fast-medium bowler. He has played three first-class matches and scored 312 runs along with 12 wickets.

He tried his hand in cricket as a career option before turning towards singing. However, his dream of playing for India came crashing down after suffering an elbow injury and he bid cricket adieu in 2007. Sandhu said that ever since he was a child he wanted to become a cricketer. He revealed that he shortened his name because of his friends. He said that his friends come from all walks of life and for some of them the pronunciation of his original name ‘Hardevinder’ was difficult.

“I played for around 10 years. I have played for the U19 cricket team with Shikhar Dhawan. He was my roommate, and I have also played with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma. But in 2006, I had an elbow injury. I was a fast bowler and the injury was on my right arm. I tried to get treatment here, but kuch hua nahi .”

“I then decided to go to Australia to see good doctors and physiotherapists. I got a student visa and thought if my treatment is successful, I will come back to India and start playing again. Warna padhai karke, wahin settle ho jaunga. I was there for 11 months and in that period, I met a lot of doctors, par kuch hua nahi. Wahan taxi bhi chalayi,” he told Circle of Bollywood last month.

However, Sandhu’s switch to singing was rather successful. ‘Naah’ was watched by 2 crore people in just 20 days. On YouTube, the video received two crore likes and has been viewed over 15 crore times till date. Sandhu’s other song ‘Backbone’ was also a huge hit and has over 17 crores views on YouTube. He has also acted in a Punjabi movie called ‘Yaaran Da Catch Up’ which became a hit in Punjab.

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