On a chilly December evening in 1984, Khushi Cheema returned residence and requested his spouse to pack their belongings. The following day, the Sikh household from village Cheema Khurd close to Jalandhar boarded a prepare for Delhi. During the 52-km journey, 5-year-old Harpreet saved asking his father the place they had been going. He solely received a smile as a solution.
“I can never forget that night and the next morning. It still feels like it happened yesterday. My father took that decision to keep his family safe after the rise of insurgency in Punjab during the mid-1980s,” Harpreet tells The Indian Express over cellphone from Amstelveen within the Netherlands.
Cut to the current, Khushi Cheema is again on his farm in Jalandhar, and Harpreet is operating a transportation firm in Amstelveen.
His 19-year-old grandson, Vikramjit Singh, tipped to be one of many brightest cricketing abilities within the Netherlands, will take guard towards India, the nation of his forefathers, on Thursday, which he calls “the biggest match of my international career”.
After the win towards Pakistan within the opening sport, India will begin as favourites towards a nation the place cricket isn’t a mass sport.
“I was five when I came to the Netherlands. It was very hard; you didn’t know the language, it was a completely different culture. It took me a few years to settle down,” says Harpreet.
He goes down reminiscence lane, recollecting his household’s hardships and the discrimination he confronted rising up.
“Back then, there was racism. I faced a lot because of my skin colour, turban and beard,” says Harpreet.
But with time, issues eased. Khushi Cheema, who began driving a taxi in his new nation, handed over his transportation firm to his son earlier than transferring again to India in 2000.
“My father handed over the business to me and moved back to India. He said his duty as a father was done, we are well settled here now, and he wanted to go back to his pind (village), to his people,” Harpreet says.
The household’s bond with India was too sturdy to chop off. Vikramjit was born in Cheema Khurd and he moved to the Netherlands solely after he turned seven. He by no means needed to face issues like his father.
At 11, he was noticed at an U-12 match by then Dutch skipper Peter Borren, who spent hours and hours within the nets to groom the teen. He additionally received a sponsorship from Beat All Sports (BAS), a sports activities items producers firm that made bats for Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh.
At 15, he was already within the Netherlands ‘A’ aspect and two years later, made his senior crew debut.
“For me, cricket started in Cheema Khurd. When I moved to the Netherlands, I used to go with my father as he used to play in the local leagues. At 12, I played alongside him when he was captain,” Vikramjit says from Sydney.
Borren received Vikramjit enrolled at his membership VRA, Amsterdam, the place he was captain.
“Not sure what he saw in me but I feel lucky that someone like Peter, with so much international experience, is my mentor. He has guided me throughout my cricketing career so far,” says Vikramjit.
It will not be straightforward to be an expert cricketer in a rustic obsessive about soccer with a cricket season ending in September earlier than resuming in March.
Here, Harpreet got here to his son’s rescue. During his taking part in days, he had grow to be mates with Amit Uniyal, a former Punjab and Rajasthan Royals bowler, who used to play league cricket with him within the Netherlands. From 2015-16 to 2019-20, the teen spent six months at Uniyal’s Gurusagar Cricket Academy in Chandigarh.
“I had my doubts first. NRI kid, will he be able to train twice a day? Will he be able to get along with the local lads? But he surprised me with his temperament, his immense self-belief and hard work. He never complained and I am not surprised to see his rise in International cricket,” says Uniyal.
In 2021, Vikramjit shifted his base to Jalandhar and began coaching with former India U-19 participant Taruwar Kohli, who additionally used to play for a membership in Amsterdam.
“The sole reason was that Taruwar Kohli’s academy was near my village (Khurd Cheema), and now my mother doesn’t have to worry about me anymore. It was kind of exhausting for her too. Above all, I got to spend more time with my Dadu (grandfather),” says Vikramjit, who has gifted his Netherlands jersey to his grandfather, a die-hard cricket fan.
“He has supported India throughout his life. Hopefully, not on Thursday because it will be the biggest match of my international career so far,” he says.
