@Cricket Tadka

VRV Singh returns, tougher and still hungry

After a back surgery that kept him out of the game for over two years, VRV Singh is on a comeback trail and determined to work through every challenge..

   His deliveries still bounce as steeply as they used to when he first played for India as a chubby 21-year old in 2006. That toothy grin, broad and childlike, has not changed. He still runs in like a locomotive struggling to control its momentum as it rumbles downhill. It is hard to believe that last week's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Assam was VRV Singh's first game for Punjab in more than four years..

           Four years. The Indian Test middle order had all of its four big batsmen intact four years ago. Anil Kumble was India's Test captain. The IPL had not yet come to town. And the veteran Pankaj Dharmani was leading Punjab. India's cricket map has been altered in four years. And VRV Singh has seen the best and worst of the life of a professional sportsman in these four years.

             Sometimes, you can never win. For two-and-a-half years, he could hardly play. Now when he can, there are no avenues available. But for the moment, VRV Singh is happy about just being able to bowl again. Remind him of his early days, when it was all about pace for him, and he smiles knowingly again.

"I am more mature now. You are obviously wiser at 27 than when you are 21-22. I have understood my body much better now. That fire is still there [though]. It will always be there."..