India's 2011 World Cup win inspired me to become cricketer: Malaysia's Virandeep Singh

Virandeep Singh has become the first Malaysian cricketer to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction list. That is quite an achievement since the country is part of Southeast Asia where there is no major cricketing nation.

Singh, a batsman, a left-arm orthodox spinner who can also keeps wickets, trumps the likes of India T20 team captain Suryakumar Yadav and batting legend Virat Kohli on one count. He has more Player of the Match Awards in T20 Internationals than anyone else in the history of the format. He has 22 such awards and his nearest competitors Sikandar Raza (19), Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli (16 each) are way behind.

The 26-year-old, who idolises Australia's hard-hitting batsman Tim David, spoke in a freewheeling interview.

Q. How did you get hooked to cricket. What inspired you?

A. I come from a very simple background. May dad was with the Malaysian government for over 40 years and he has just retired. My mom has always been a housewife. We had to pick a sport in school and I picked cricket, because my dad had played a bit of it in school. It all changed in 2011, when we watched India win the World Cup. That really inspired me to take up the sport [seriously]. That is where the love for the game grew. Education-wise, I went to primary school, secondary school and then did my bachelors in Asia-Pacific University under cricket scholarship.

Virandeep Singh is the first player from South East Asia to feature in IPL auction

Q. How is the cricket scene in Malaysia? What are the challenges for players?

A. Cricket in Malaysia is growing, especially after the previous SEA (South East Asian) Games in 2017. I think that really caught the eye of the public. We won a gold medal in the SEA Games. That really changed the perspective for cricket players in the entire country, everybody wanted to play for Malaysia, win a medal for the country. For some reason, it is always the SEA Games and the Asian Games first than the ICC tournaments in Malaysia [that inspire people]. I think the challenges for players is that we are all semi-professional players. We don’t really get paid as much as [players from] a full-member nation.

But you know credit goes to Malaysia Cricket for providing player with contracts and today some of us are able to play cricket for a little longer. Since the average age of the team is very young, we all will be able to play cricket for a little longer because we have some sort of funds coming in our account. Secondly, being in the region where cricket isn’t as big – we are the highest ranked nation in Southeast Asia – we don’t really have any neighbouring countries that can support our cricket. If we compare it to Nepal or Afghanistan, Afghanistan have Pakistan, Nepal have India. Every top cricketing nation has support from a neighbouring country. In Malaysia, we don’t really have that, so that is probably one of the challenges for our cricket.

Of course, if you are a semi-pro cricketer, you have to balance everything is life as well as job – part-time office. So attention to cricket goes slightly less as compared to a country like India where they wake up every morning to play cricket. They hit thousand balls a day, we probably hit a thousand balls a week. That is the difference. And also the games that they play, they play a game every other day. We play 2-3 three games in a week. Those guys play a game every single day of the week, maybe two matches a day.

I think the number of games they play and the quality of cricket, so those are some of the challenges we face as Malaysian cricketers. Of course, the things are getting better from what we were before to what we are now. We have got a very good bunch of players, a very proper system in place for Malaysian team. A lot of dedicated and committed who want to play the game. Things are changing. As long as ICC supports us, [it] shouldn’t really be a problem.

Virandeep Singh has 3180 runs in 111 T20Is at 37.85 & a strike rate of 127.35. Virandeep has 109 wickets too.

Q. How many grounds are there, especially with turf pitches? Is there any interest from the corporates?

A. In Kuala Lumpur itself, the city itself, we have 6-7 grounds with turf pitches. Then up north we have two pitches in Penang and in south we have one ground which was actually used for the ICC Under-19 World Cup. We have one in the east well, in the state called Sarawak. That is the new stadium. It was also used for Under-19 World Cup. Those are some of the grounds. It is much better than before. Earlier, we did not have these many grounds in Malaysia. The facilities are much better now. There are private clubs as well that allow us to play cricket.

The corporate scene is quite big. But I would say over the last couple of years, their interest has become a bit less. The reason for that is last time we had a ground in Puchong (Kinrara Academy Oval) which is quite central for everybody to come and play. It had lights. A lot of corporate tournaments used to take place in that ground. Because after people finish work, they start games at around 7 and play until 10. But now we have lost that ground. That ground was taken back by the private investors. Now we don’t have grounds with lights, so the corporate scene has gone slightly slow, and they are playing lesser matches, but they still support the game.

Q. Who is your role model, who you idolise?

A. For now my role model is [Australian] Tim David, love the way he power hits. I played against him when he was playing for Singapore. I really admired the way he changed his game, according to what world cricket requires. He understood the needs of franchise cricket and adjusted the game according to that. He has become one of the best finishers in the world. So he is probably my idol now.

Malaysia Cricket posted this picture to celebrate his name featuring in IPL auction

Q. Tell us about your training schedule…

A. We are fully contracted players. We have other jobs as well. We have to attend 80 per cent of the training sessions in a month. I try to make it a point to train every single day of the month but if not, I think five [days a week] is minimum. So, we do train 5-6 days a week. Close to the tournament, the amount of time gets higher.

Q. Have you had the opportunity to meet Tim David?

A. I did play against Tim David. But I did not get an opportunity to speak to him about cricket. I was a bit unlucky. Last year I was with Sharjah team in ILT20, but Tim wasn’t there. But this year when I am not selected, he is there. I wish I had the opportunity to speak to him. But unfortunately, it is not meant to be for this time. But hopefully, I will catch up with him, maybe for a cup of coffee and chat up with him about cricket.

Q. You have been shortlisted for the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on December 17. Everybody wants to know your reaction…

A. It is great news that I have been shortlisted for the IPL 2026 auction. It is probably the first time for a cricketer from our region. It is a big thing. But yeah, it is just the start of the journey. Let us see how the auction plays out. But the bigger goal is always improving myself as a cricketer and be able to contribute whenever the opportunity arises. I am honoured, happy and excited for the auction day. Credit goes to everyone who has been part of my support system, especially my teammates. My coaches, which includes trainers, physios, the batting coaches and all the well-wishers, my parents and my little dog Max, my lucky charm. My family. I am very grateful to them for whatever they have done for me. It is a big occasion. We will enjoy that while it lasts.

Virandeep Singh, IPL 2026, Cricket, Malaysia, Tim David, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi