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 Success
wasn't easy for this Trinidadian
Like any other lad in the island Robin Singh started
playing cricket at a very young age. He represented the Trinidad Youth Team at the age of
17 and the Trinidad National Team at the age of 19. An accidental meeting with Syed
Ebrahim of the MCC changed his destiny. He shifted to Chennai in search of greener
pastures.And made a tremendous impact in the Inter College and First Division league
matches. With his all-round capabilities he impressed the Tamil Nadu selectors and earned
a place in the Tamil Nadu Ranji Team.With the 1987/88 domestic season he revealed himself
at the National Level.He scored 555 runs at a high average of 69.37 that included four
centuries and claimed 17 wickets at an average of 18.17.
Then came the biggest moment of his life. He was selected
for the West Indies tour of 1989.
The inexperienced Indian Team could not withstand the
might of the West Indian hurricane. And the team suffered a thorough whitewash 4-0 [Test
Matches] and 5-0 [One-day internationals]. Robin Singh made his debut in the third ODI
match at Port of Spain. The scores- India 192/10 and West Indies 193/4. Robin’s
performance with the ball [0-7] with the bat [3].
Though he was selected as a one day player , he
wasn’t given ample time to settle. Everyone cannot be a Sunil Gavaskar to hold the
mighty West Indians by the scruff of their neck right from the first match.
The meek performance combined with insufficient
opportunities augmented his woes. He was one of the few players who faced the selectors
wrath.
" I wasn’t given many opportunities", said
Robin. But he wasn’t aware of the ludicrous ways of our selectors.
"I thought I would get a call later. But never
thought it would take so long".
He waited and waited but the call eluded him. Even an
optimist would have buckled under the circumstances. But not the unyielding Robin Singh.
He continued to do to do what he knew best. Perform.
During that period he played many memorable innings for
Tamil Nadu became the captain and also played league cricket in Scotland.
It required some consistent disastrous performances from
the Indian team for the selectors to realise the importance of utility players like Robin
Singh. He was called back for the Titan Cup . A triangular series between India, Australia
and South Africa. He immediately captured the imagination of cricket lovers with agile
fielding, lusty hitting and nagging bowling.
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