Done in by Karnataka's speed merchants

Known as the smiling assassin, NP Singh was a prolific wicket-taker in the 90s. Along with Kanwaljit Singh and Venkatapathy Raju, the medium pacer formed a deadly bowling trio for Hyderabad.

Feared for his ability to swing the ball both ways, NP Singh found a way to bag wickets even in conditions hardly favourable for bowlers. His career was fuelled by hard work. After breaking into the Hyderabad side as a 20-year-old, NP Singh was groomed by stalwarts. “I was very young but it was great to play alongside Narasimha Rao, Abdul Azeem, Vivek Jaisimha and RA Swaroop,” he says.

Whenever the story of Hyderabad cricket’s golden days in 90s is told, NP Singh receives a significant mention. His impressive first-class record of 319 first-class wickets from 101 games notwithstanding, NP Singh, like his former team-mate Kanwaljit, is unfortunate to have not represented the country.

Even as he toiled hard to grab the selectors’ attention, the rise of quality pacers in Karnataka proved to be a huge hurdle for NP Singh. “The competition was very stiff, especially from Karnataka. Javagal Srinath had just begun playing for India while they also had Venkatesh Prasad, David Johnson and Dodda Ganesh. Another pacer who was making waves was Debasish Mohanty from Odisha,” he says.

The fading hopes of the India cap didn’t rattle him. “So many factors decide the selection to the Indian team. Luck plays an important role. There was no point in worrying about things that weren’t in my control. I continued to try hard and win matches for Hyderabad,” says the 46-year-old.

NP Singh was desperate to experience the proud feeling of being a Ranji Trophy champion. It pushed him to give his best, season after season. “The 1999-2000 campaign was my best. Myself, Kanwaljit and Raju combined to take more than 150 wickets. We reached the final that season,” he recollects.

Powered by the trio’s terrific consistency and VVS Laxman’s yet-to-be conquered mammoth run tally of 1415 runs in a season, Hyderabad finished second best following their 297-run drubbing at the hands of hosts Mumbai in the final at the Wankhede stadium.

NP Singh talks of Laxman – the former India batting stay – with awe. “I know Laxman from my U-19 days. We shared the same passion of winning the Ranji Trophy. He would always tell me ‘irrespective of what others do, you do your job with the ball and I will take care of the batting responsibility’. It still hurts us that we failed to win the title for Hyderabad,” he confesses.

It’s been 14 years since NP Singh called it quits. Yet, the desire to see Hyderabad as Ranji Trophy champions is still intact. Appointed as the State team’s bowling coach three years ago, he is striving hard to realise his dream through the current crop.

“Last season was forgettable for us as we got relegated from the Elite group. Hyderabad isn’t short of good pacers. We have Ravi Kiran, CV Milind and not to forget Mohammed Siraj. We need to improve our batting and click as a team,” he reasons.