Moga girl who played cricket with boys, her dupatta tied around waist

The town lined up in huge numbers to welcome home “daughter Harman” after the 2017 World Cup, in which India agonizingly lost the final to England. That was also the year when women’s cricket earned many new followers in Punjab, thanks to Harmanpreet.

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Eight years later, Moga’s Harmanpreet, now 36 and Indian women’s team captain, has scripted another history, as she led the team Sunday to win India’s first-ever ICC Women’s World Cup title against South Africa.

The Moga town, otherwise known for its wholesale grain markets, stray cattle menace and poor civic amenities, is now basking in glory as its homegrown talent Harmanpreet became India’s first-ever women’s team captain to lift the World Cup trophy, Sunday.

Reacting to the historic win, Kamaldeesh Pal Singh Sodhi, 68, Harmanpreet’s first coach cum mentor cum father figure, while speaking to The Indian Express over phone from Australia, said: “Saadi zindagi, saadi mehnat safal ho gai (Our lives, our hard work are now fulfilled). It was my dream to give a team of world-class women cricket players to my country India.”

How a ‘good coach’ can change lives

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For Sodhi, 68, she remains his ‘Harman putt‘ (daughter). It was nearly 19 years ago that Sodhi saw Harmanpreet, then around 16, playing cricket with boys in a local ground, “dupatta tied to her waist.”

“She was bowling to some boys, and her dupatta was tied to her waist. I asked her ‘kinna shouk hai cricket da (How much do you like playing cricket)?’ She said she liked cricket so much that she feels like playing the whole day. I instantly decided to adopt her for free coaching and studies at my school.”

“I asked her ‘can we take you to our school?’ She said ‘papa naal gall kar lo (you first have to speak to my father)’. When I contacted her father, he said he cannot afford a private school or cricket coaching. I assured him it will be entirely free of cost. In fact, we also assured the father that we would pick and drop her every day so safety also would not be a concern,” says Sodhi, founder-cum-owner, Gyan Jyoti school and cricket academy for girls in Darapur village of Moga, where Harmanpreet trained and polished as a cricketer.

“In the very first year, when she joined our academy in 2006, she became the state school champion,” says Sodhi.

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Harmanpreet’s father, Harmander Singh Bhullar, worked at the Moga district courts as a clerk while his mother, Satwinder Kaur, was a homemaker. Harmanpreet studied at a local government school in Moga before moving to Sodhi’s school for free cricket coaching and studies.

“The family had previously lived near Guru Nanak College in Moga, and Harmanpreet would often play on the college’s grounds. Now they have shifted to their new house in Duneke of Moga, which she built for her parents with her hard work,” says Sodhi.

“I never treated Harman as my student. She has been my daughter, my Harman putt. My wife and accompanied her to important matches at the state level. We used to pick her up and drop her off in our vehicle. Sometimes she would even stay at our home if practice continued till late hours,” says Sodhi.

Harmanpreet’s huge sixes

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“Once during a match in Patiala, she hit such a long six that the windows of a nearby house were smashed. The owners came out in anger, asking who did the mischief. When I told them that a young girl had hit a six, they also appreciated and cooled down. I would deploy extra fielders near the boundary line of my school ground, as Harmanpreet would hit sixes, and balls would sink in water-filled paddy fields, never to be found,” says Sodhi.

“She would say that she doesn’t want to go to class but just play cricket the whole day. She is not a new star for me. For me, every win of hers has been special since she left this academy to play for India. I know she will never forget me or her first ground,” adds Sodhi.

Sodhi’s son Yadwinder Singh, who also coached Harmanpreet for years, says, “With Harmanpreet lifting the World Cup trophy today, not just hers but our dream has also been fulfilled. Those who play cricket know that the ultimate goal is always to win a World Cup. It’s history and a milestone for women’s cricket in India.”

Urging people not to discriminate between sons and daughters, Sodhi says, “Waddi bhull hai.. (It’s a big mistake). Never differentiate between daughters and sons. My daughter Harman has done what my sons could not. There was a time when people said Harman trained in our school but today our school is known by her name. Even Guru Nanak said, ‘So kyun manda aakhiye, jit jamme rajaan (Why call the women who gave birth to kings bad)’.”

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