Before he went on to dominate the group stage of the Ranji Trophy 2022 and pushed Punjab to the knock-outs, veteran batter Mandeep Singh revealed, he was struggling with the after-effects of dengue earlier in the season, which soon followed a bout of Covid. Dengue held Mandeep back at the start of the season when […]
Before he went on to dominate the group stage of the Ranji Trophy 2022 and pushed Punjab to the knock-outs, veteran batter Mandeep Singh revealed, he was struggling with the after-effects of dengue earlier in the season, which soon followed a bout of Covid.
Dengue held Mandeep back at the start of the season when he had to miss most of Punjab’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 games and then went through a poor Vijay Hazare Trophy. And then came Covid, which by his own admission, made him “very weak” in the build-up to the Ranji Trophy.
“The Covid-19 made me very weak. After 2 weeks, I could not even lift my bat, and it took some time to regain my fitness,” Mandeep Singh told the Indian Express.
“In the first week of February, I called up Baltej (Singh), Arshdeep (Singh) and our sidearm thrower Avinash to get some net practice at the PCA. I was struggling, be it in the nets or the sole practice match we played before entering the bubble of Ranji Trophy.”
At that point, it is the determination and desire to score runs with the Ranji coming back that spurred the batter on. “I knew it was going to be difficult, probably the most challenging season for me. I decided I would not give away my wicket cheaply no matter how much I am struggling. I was ready to toil. It was all about the mindset, and I am glad that I won this mini-battle,” added the 30-year-old, who has played 3 T20Is for India.
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Mandeep Singh played for India back in 2016.
Playing in Elite Group F, Punjab had to keep Himachal Pradesh, Tripura and Haryana at bay to sneak through the knock-outs. In a compromised format because of Covid, only one team from each Elite group makes it through to the quarterfinals and to be that side, Punjab needed their experienced heads to stand up.
Mandeep Singh was certainly one of those players, as he started off the season with an 84 against HP, backed up with a superlative 159* versus Haryana and a second-innings 97 not out against Tripura. Mandeep top-scored in the group stage for Punjab with 358 runs from 4 innings – no one else compiled 200 runs.
Mandeep Singh in #RanjiTrophy2022
84, 159*, 18 & 97*
Player of the Match vs Tripura as Punjab makes it to the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy
#RanjiTrophy pic.twitter.com/cDENUBB1eD
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) March 6, 2022
But within a short group campaign, Mandeep had his own little revival of sorts. Not just with Covid but on the technical front as well. Despite his magnificent start against HP, the batter didn’t feel on top of the world and believed there is something wrong with his game. In search of answers, he called his long-time coach and India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour.
Willing to help, Rathour asked for clips of Mandeep Singh’s knocks during the 2019-20 Ranji season and also his innings against HP. The very next day, Rathour made a point to send a detailed assessment of the batter’s game and technique. At the core of it, it was a simple advice. But, as always, in cricket, it’s the simple tweaks that make all the difference.
“My head was falling over, which was affecting my balance when I was going for a drive,” Mandeep disclosed. “There were issues with my head position and my stance. He pointed out the small technical glitches in my batting. I hardly had time to fix it during the tournament, so Vikram paji suggested working extra hours in the nets. It worked out pretty well for me.”
