All over for Sukhwinder Tinku after dream over to Brian Lara

PART 6: Sukhwinder Singh Tinku nonetheless remembers his over to the West Indies captain in the course of the inaugural Youth World Cup within the Australian city of Merbein in 1988. Tinku, a right-arm pacer, says he struck him on the pads for 3 consecutive deliveries earlier than discovering the surface edge, just for the catch to be dropped. Though Tinku’s seven wickets within the event included that of England skipper Mike Atherton, his favorite reminiscence stays that over.
“His bat-swing was very fast,” remembers Tinku. “I bowled outswingers and though the ball hit his pads, I feared that if he connected, it would land in the stands. He edged the fourth ball, an inswinger, to the slips but the catch was dropped. It was only after 2-3 years — when I saw him playing for the West Indies senior team — that I got to know he was Brian Lara.”
Tinku, the son of a contractor, performed only one Ranji Trophy match for Punjab. But he performed all seven of India’s matches within the World Cup, and shared the brand new ball with Subroto Banerjee.
“Going to Australia was like a fairytale for all of us. Once some players, including Aaqib Javed, pretended to be Punjabi speaking boys from Delhi and told me they had met me before in Delhi. Later, some of my team-mates told me they were actually from Pakistan!”

After the World Cup, Tinku was amongst 12 pacers chosen to coach on the MRF Pace Foundation. Later, he was picked — together with Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad — to coach for six months in Australia beneath Dennis Lillee. “We would all observe Lillee sir and discuss his action,” he remembers.
He was then picked for India A however days earlier than he might play, he dislocated his left knee joint whereas coaching. It put him out of cricket for greater than two years.
“Many doctors told me I could never play cricket. Spending two years at home was the toughest phase of my life but I came back. I was the highest wicket-taker in the Punjab inter-district tournament but again, a day before a Ranji match, I reinjured my knee and that was the end of my professional career.”
Tinku performed for the Punjab electrical energy division — he joined as a foreman in 1995 — earlier than changing into a coach. In the final twenty years, Tinku has coached gamers resembling Shubman Gill, Manpreet Gony, Gurkeerat Mann, Sunny Sohal, who performed for USA, and Simi Singh, who performs for Ireland.

“Had I performed for India, I might have been just one worldwide cricketer. But this position of coach has allowed me to present many worldwide and national-level cricketers to the sport. When a participant tells me of his choice in any district or state or nationwide staff, it’s my greatest reward. Cricket taught me to by no means surrender.
“Nowadays, junior cricketers get so much exposure and also get platforms like the IPL and the U-19 World Cup. My advice to them is to keep dreaming and aiming big. Hard work is the only key.”
Also learn different components: