Cricketer turned cop Joginder Sharma rates India's chances at 98%

GURGAON: Despite playing only a handful of matches for India at the international level, Joginder Sharma’s name rings a bell in the mind of every Indian who follows the game.

Cricket fans remember him as the man who bowled that fateful final over in the 2007 ICC World T20. Captain MS Dhoni put his faith in this relatively unknown bowler from Haryana, and the latter didn’t disappoint. Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq played a scoop shot on Sharma’s ball after hitting a six, which was caught by Sreesanth, resulting in India winning the inaugural T20 World Cup.

'Haven’t announced my retirement yet'

Joginder never played a T20 match for India after that, and today, he serves as a deputy commissioner with the Haryana Police in the Yamunanagar district.

“I’ve been policing on a regular basis only for a year now. Before that, I was active in domestic cricket. Also, I haven’t announced my retirement yet,” says Sharma, who believes in ‘It’s not over till it’s over’.

Ask him if he will draw inspiration from the likes of Ashish Nehra and make a comeback, and he replies, “Maybe.”

'Yet to see another captain like Dhoni'

Reminiscing about the 2007 WT20 final, Sharma says, “Nobody expected India to do well. We made an early exit from the ICC World Cup same year. In the T20 tournament, we had mostly new players in the team. We were taking it one match at a time.”

His big moment came in the semi-finals, when Australia needed just 22 runs, and Indian captain MS Dhoni decided to hand the ball over to Sharma. With Mike Hussey still at the crease, Jogi, as he is called in the cricketing circuit, bowled two dot balls and took two wickets in the first five balls, ensuring India a place in the finals.

“Dhoni ne woh same confidence mujh mein finals mein bhi dikhaya,” he says, adding, “When it comes to temperament, I’m yet to see another captain like Dhoni. He neither gets too excited by a win, nor too depressed by a loss. He has great control over his emotions. They say a team makes a captain, but you can see that players have come and gone, and yet Dhoni is someone who identifies the strength of his players and uses it accordingly. Jo ek baar jeete, woh fluke hai, par jo baar baar jeete, woh fluke nahin hai. Dhoni has proved his mettle again and again.”

Ask him if he felt the pressure of bowling that final over, and he says, “From a population of 1.25 billion, 11 players are chosen to play for the country. We are professionals. We play a game aiming to win, we don’t think too much about what people would think if we don’t win. We are on the field to perform. Every player knows his job. Plus, neither the captain nor the coach ever tell us ki jeetna hi hai. We are always told to go and give our 100 per cent.”

'Bowling was a concern two years back'

We asked him to pick a bowler who he thinks would do well bowling the last over in a tense game, and he says, “I would choose Ravichandran Ashwin if the opponent has three-four wickets left, but if it’s the tail-enders batting, I would pick Jasprit Bumrah.”

Jogi is happy with the bowling line-up and thinks India is set to win another World T20 Cup. “Bowling was a concern area two years back, but now it’s sorted. Hardik Pandya will learn eventually. Jab maar padti hai, toh bowler seekh jaata hai. India is on a roll. There is a 98 per cent chance that India will lift the cup. I am leaving 2 per cent, as T20 is a tricky format and anything can go wrong in an over.”

'Haryana will produce quality players'

About his own career shift, Sharma says, “I can’t blame anyone, but I’m disappointed that I couldn’t emulate in international cricket what I achieved in domestic cricket. Injuries kept me out of action for a long time. At some point, I realized that I should make way for young, budding players from Haryana. And believe me, in some time, Haryana will produce lots of quality players.”

Being part of the Haryana Police, Sharma says ia a different ball game now. “Cricket aur policing bahut hi alag hain. Police ko sab negative samajhte hain, par kuch officers actually bahut achhe hain. The best part is that you can help the needy,” he says, and adds, “Both the public and the criminals treat me like a cricketer, but I treat them all as a policeman would.”