Harvansh Singh: Father a truck driver in Canada, son dons gloves for India U-19

New Delhi: It was around 3 AM in Canada when Damandeep Singh's mobile started buzzing. When he finally woke up, there were hundreds of congratulatory texts about his son, Harvansh Singh Pangalia, getting selected for India’s U-19 squad for the upcoming tour of England."15-16 ghante truck chalaane ke baad neend kahaan khulti hai (After driving a truck for 15-16 hours, you can't wake up that easily from a mobile's vibration)," Damandeep told TimesofIndia.com over the phone from Brampton.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!"There are so many congratulatory messages. It feels good. It brings back so many memories of when Harvansh said 'no' to me about moving to Canada. He was rigid, and he's living his dream," said Damandeep.

India U-19 wicketkeeper-batter Harvansh Singh hails from Gandhidham, a small town in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch. Growing up, he saw his father, Damandeep Singh, and uncle, Kunwarajeet Singh, who played cricket in their town. Interestingly, both of them were wicketkeepers. Now, Harvansh's family is settled in Canada, where his father drives a truck in Brampton."My elder brother and I were crazy about cricket. We used to play for the sake of a hobby," he recollected.

"Even Rajkot is 200 km away from our city. It was only in 2012 when the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) opened an academy in our town. I enrolled Harvansh in it when he was six. He picked up 'keeping from me, as I used to don the gloves as well. But he turned southpaw because of Yuvraj Singh. He's a massive Yuvraj fan and hasn't seen peak Yuvraj, but he was obsessed with the video of him hitting six sixes off Stuart Broad," said Damandeep.

Damandeep never thought a video of Yuvraj Singh's six sixes would make his son so obsessed with the game that he would vow to represent his country.

In 2017, Damandeep decided to move to Canada to join his elder brother and sister, but his son Harvansh refused to leave. He wanted to pursue cricket and was hell-bent on making a name for himself in the sport."My mother, elder brother, and sister all moved to Canada. My plan was the same, but Harvansh wouldn't agree to leave India.

He wanted to pursue his dream of playing for India. My wife, Jaspreet Kaur, and I tried hard to convince him, but he was determined," said Damandeep."Papa India hi khelna hai (I want to play for India only). Many relatives tried hard to make him understand that it would be easier for him to play cricket in Canada because the competition is less there. But he kept on arguing, 'easy kuch bhi nahi chahiye aur jab khelna hi hai toh India ke liye khelunga' (I don't want anything easy in my life, and when I play, I will play for India only).'"

After a while, Damandeep and Jaspreet gave up."I told him, 'Fine, you play your cricket. Let's make a decision after U-19. If you don't get picked for India, then just pack your bags and move to Canada,'" he said.The family got divided. Damandeep is settled in Brampton, putting in hours driving a truck on the road to earn money, while Harvansh stayed back in Gandhidham with his mother. The teenager, however, made a promise to his father that one day he would get them back to India."I live with my mother, and he lives with his," laughed Damandeep.

While Harvansh took a giant step in cricket with the help of SCA, and especially Jaydev Shah (president of the SCA), who has taken a keen interest in Harvansh's career growth, Damandeep, on the other hand, is battling the ongoing recession in Canada."I used to sit in our office and look at our transport business. Here in Canada, I'm driving a truck. Life is hard here—six days a week on the road, driving 15-16 hours every day.

It's not easy. But when I see him taking these giant leaps, I feel the hardship is worth it. He keeps telling me to come back. And like any desi father, I tell him that I'm saving money for his future if cricket doesn't work out," said Damandeep.

Damandeep is set for another 14-hour drive, while about 13,296 km away in Bengaluru, Harvansh has checked into the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for their one-month camp before the England tour. Damandeep is hopeful that one day there will be no distance, and he will be cheering every run hit, every catch, and every stumping by Harvansh from the stands.