Published: Feb 23, 2017, 01:25 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 24, 2017, 10:44 AM (IST)
The case of mistaken identity has ruined the IPL dreams of a promising young cricketer, Harpreet Singh. The social media news updates had mixed up the names of Mumbai left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh and in-form Madhya Pradesh batsman, Harpreet Singh. This had resulted in Harpreet not being chosen by any of the IPL franchises. On Monday, during the IPL auction, several news portals had misreported Harpreet Singh as the cricketer who broke the law as he drove a car into the Andheri station. But it was in fact Harmeet Singh, who allegedly drove a car into the Andheri station. Though the names in the news updates were corrected later but it was too late. According to a franchise representative, Harpreet remained unsold at the auction as he saw an incorrect tweet of Harpreet’s arrest. ALSO READ: Ranji cricketer Harmeet Singh given bail after driving car into Andheri platform
“We wanted to buy him, but as news came of Harpreet’s arrest, we decided not to do so since it would give the franchise a bad image. But later, when the auction got over, we came to know it was Harmeet and not Harpreet,” said a franchise official.
Both, Harpreet and Harmeet have represented India at the junior level. Harpreet has been a consistent player for Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, Harmeet no longer finds a place in any of the Mumbai teams.
On the day of auction, wire news agency ANI (Asian News International) had mistweeted on their official twitter handle “Under 19 cricketer Harpreet Singh detained for driving a car straight into Andheri railway station platform last night.” The tweet was sandwiched between its updates on the IPL auction.
The incorrect tweet remained on ANI’s timeline till Thursday until Indian Express sent a query about the mix-match of names. The agency came up with a corrected tweet on Wednesday. Initially the news agency PTI (Press Trust of India) also had misreported the same news, only to have it corrected later. Even a few websites, till late on Wednesday, had put up the false news of Harpreet arrest with his photo as well.
Harpreet says that he is mentally disturbed as these false reports have ruined his name. A Google search for his name, first gives the false news of his arrest. He still gets phone calls inquiring about his alleged arrest. He feels that the franchises hesitated to pick him in IPL auction thinking that he was one who was arrested. Even though he is not bothered about the IPL, but this has damaged his reputation.
“I’m mentally disturbed… Mera naam toh kharab ho gaya na (I have got a bad name). How can one clear that? I am getting calls from everyone asking what have you done. I was hoping to be picked up at the IPL auction… When my name came, the franchises must have felt why take a player who is in police custody. I am not bothered about IPL now, it’s gone. But even if you run a search on my name on Google, the first thing that comes up is that I was arrested,” Harpreet was quoted in a report in The Indian Express.
Harpreet could have been among the favorites, before the IPL auction. He was the top scorer in domestic cricket’s premier T20 tournament, the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy. His last five innings read — 92, 9, 48, 62 and 53. Appearing for the Central Zone, he has scored 211 runs in four games with a strike rate of 145. His best innings so far is 92 runs of 51 balls against the South Zone. He has also scored two other half centuries.
There seems to be a hope for him in the IPL. A franchise representative has said that they may consider picking Harpreet Singh as the first choice, in case someone gets injured in the team.
