I will always be a cricketer by heart: Harrdy Sandhu

New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) A singer, a dancer, and an actor… Harrdy Sandhu is an all-rounder but even after all these years, the popular recording artiste says his first love is cricket.

The 36-year-old musician played on India’s Under-19 cricket team as a right-arm fast bowler for around 10 years with cricketers Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma. But an elbow injury in 2006 forced him to change career path.

“I will always be a cricketer by heart. And then, music is very close to me after that. But I enjoy everything. I enjoy the process of everything. I enjoy the learning which I get from everything. But those two (cricket and music) are close to me,” Sandhu, whose real name is Hardavinder Singh Sandhu, told PTI in a virtual interview.

Interestingly, the singer got a chance to relive his cricket dream in Kabir Khan’s 2021 sports drama “83”, in which he played the role of former Team India fast bowler Madan Lal, who was an important part of the 1983 World Cup winning team. The critically-acclaimed film also marked his Hindi cinema debut.

Sandhu’s latest work as a singer is “Yaad Aati Hai”, a Punjabi single billed as a tribute to people in uniform who have lost their loved ones in the line of duty. Abhishek Singh and Asmita Sood star in the music video directed by Arvindr Khaira.

The singer said he connected with Singh, an Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer, as a friend and instantly hit it off. Singh has previously starred in the Netflix series “Delhi Crime 2” and music video “Dil Tod Ke”.

“I didn’t know what he did. I just connected with him as a friend. Then, I got to know that he has this interest in acting and everything. Recently, I got to know that he’s an IAS officer. So, I wanted to do a song for him,” said Sandhu, known for hit Punjabi songs “Bijlee Bijlee”, “Naah”, and “Kya Baat Hai”.

Singh said he owes his success in showbiz to B Praak’s “Dil Tod Ke”.

“I got so much praise because of that. People really loved my acting. After that, I did some more videos and then I met Harrdy and thought that we should also collaborate with each other and do something meaningful,” he added.

Sandhu, also known for Punjabi films “Mahi NRI” and “Yaaran Da Katchup” and “Code Name: Tiranga” (Hindi), said people in uniform are responsible for maintaining peace, law and order in the society.

“(It is) because of these people only that we are living peacefully, because of them we can sleep peacefully. They sacrifice their life, sleep, and families for us. A big salute to them, and I think we should take care of them the way they take care of us,” he said.

“For any society to live peacefully, law, order and security are the most paramount things. For that, these forces play an important role,” added Singh.

Up next for Sandhu is an EP of five songs slated to be released this month.

“Personally, I want to do all kinds of music… The journey has been great, I’m loving my journey every day. I’m so grateful,” he said.