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The incessant rains in Thiruvananthapuram kept the Netherlands off the field with both their warm-up ties against Australia and India affected. With no chance of acclimatisation, the Netherlands will take on Pakistan in Hyderabad on October 6. In such a scenario, one man in the Dutch camp Punjab-born all-rounder Vikramjit Singh, 20, is a picture of calm and focus.
Late Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s peppy numbers are keeping Vikramjit relaxed as he prepares for his World Cup debut and showcases his mettle in their first league game. Born in Cheema Kurd village near Jalandhar, Vikramjit’s family migrated to the Netherlands when he was seven years old.
“Making it to the World Cup was definitely one of the highlights of my career. For now, my personal ambition is a team ambition. We want to reach the semi-finals and I want to contribute to that goal,” said Vikramjit, who smashed a brilliant ton against Oman and a knock of 88 runs against Sri Lanka in the WC qualifiers to stand out for Netherlands and help the Flying Dutchmen make the cut for the World Cup.
The Netherlands are making a comeback in the ODI World Cup format after missing out on the 2015 and 2019 World Cup editions and it was in the India edition back in 2011, the Dutch competed in an ODI World Cup last time.
“For us, it is a huge moment. We really worked hard for this during the last 1.5 years. My first memory of watching cricket was the World Cup in 2011. And it feels special to play this one in India,” Vikramjit said, who has modelled his game on South Africa’s Quinton de Kock.
Vikramjit first caught the eye of former Dutch captain Peter Borren when he was playing in an Under-12 tournament. Coached by his father Harpreet Singh, who runs a transport business there, Vikramjit was an amateur cricketer playing for a club called Dosti in Amsterdam. When he turned 11, he joined the VRA Club in Amsterdam to pursue cricket. And in 2019, the medium pacer made his T20I debut for the Netherlands against Scotland. Last year he made his ODI debut against New Zealand. In recent years, he has spent time in Chandigarh and Jalandhar training under former Punjab first-class cricketers Amit Uniyal and Taruwar Kohli, respectively. He also plays with the Beat All Sports brand cricket gear which is owned by Taruwar’s uncle in Jalandhar.
The Netherlands have made meticulous preparations for the World Cup.
“Since we qualified the preparations started. We trained together besides our club cricket. Played matches with the larger squad and A-team players in the Fairtree Pro Series. We had a bowling camp in Alur and did the last part of our preparation there. I have trained in India for the last few years so I know a bit and we still have Wesley Barresi in our squad. He played for the Netherlands in the 2011 World Cup and also shares his experience.”
Coached by the experienced Ryan Cook, Netherlands will take on India on November 12. Vikramjit wants to explore India after the tournament ends along with his parents who will be coming down to India for the Netherlands games.
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