Before Harrdy Sandhu entered the world of entertainment, he had a brief career as a cricketer and even represented India on the under-19 cricket team. Mr Sandhu was a fast bowler for Punjab and came close to being part of the Indian ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2006 squad. Unfortunately, he missed out on the opportunity due to some unforeseen circumstances. In a recent interview, he shared reasons why he wasn't selected for the team, and one particular revelation from that interview has gained significant attention on the internet.
Appearing on a podcast 'Figuring Out With Raj Shamani', Mr Sandhu said the Under-19 team, while preparing for the 2006 World Cup in Sri Lanka, held a training camp in Pune. This camp invited 30 talented cricketers from all corners of the country. Each player was scheduled to participate in three matches during the camp, and the final team for the World Cup was to be selected by the selectors and the coach based on their performances in these matches. Mr Sandhu spoke about his notable performance during the camp, mentioning that in his first match, he managed to dismiss cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Pinal Shah, and Yo Mahesh. This impressive performance led him to believe that he was on track to secure a spot in the Under-19 team for the upcoming World Cup.
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However, despite his outstanding performance in the camp, Mr Sandhu was unable to secure a spot on the final team.
The selectors at that time were Pravin Amre, Dilip Vengsarkar, and one more person.
"We were batting on the third day, and it was my turn to bat. I asked Rahul Sharma, a former India and Punjab spinner, for a bat. Rahul was often called 'Venky.' Coincidentally, Venkatesh Prasad, who was our coach, was sitting in front of me. I called out 'Venky' to Rahul, but to my surprise, Venkatesh Prasad thought I was addressing him. Perhaps he took offense to this, and it might have influenced his decision to stick with the same squad that had played in the last two U-19 tournaments," Mr Sandhu said.
Harrdy Sandhu claimed this was one of the potential reasons for his non-selection in the team, and this particular revelation has been gaining significant attention on the internet. It has stirred a lot of reactions from users on social media, making it a viral topic of discussion.
