Haryana, Punjab lawmakers spar in fight against TB

New Delhi, February 2

The banter from the Haryana bench at the National Stadium was loud and clear: “Sukhwinder wahan run banane nahi gya hai, woh gya hai taki humari (Haryana) team chhe over me all out na ho jaye, jaisa ki Punjab ki team ne kaha tha.” (Sukhwinder hasn’t gone in the middle to score runs, he’s gone in to ensure Haryana do not get bowled out within six overs, as Punjab’s team claimed.)

Sukhwinder Singh Sheoran, the BJP MLA from Badhra, was representing the Haryana Chief Minister’s XI in a cricket game. He had failed on a number of occasions in his attempt to force the pace as Haryana chased 164 for victory over the Punjab Chief Minister’s XI.

The other Haryana batsman, Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, was hitting boundaries to keep his team in the hunt. Sheoran laboured to 9 off 12 balls, prompting another bout of in-house sledging. Sheoran was castled by Gautam Jain, IAS, and in walked Himachal Pradesh MP Anurag Thakur to help out but Haryana. But they fell short by 20 runs.

Cutting across party lines, the lawmakers were playing cricket in support of TB Free India Summit 2019, hosted by Thakur. It was a festive occasion, marked by cheerfulness and friendly sledging. 

Among those who came to show solidarity was Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Haryana CM ML Khattar and Punjab Sports Minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi.

Fan moment

During all this fun, the legislators had their fan moments, especially when Sohail Khan, Salman Khan’s youngest brother, walked in midway through the match. One by one, and also in the collective, all the lawmakers got themselves photographed with the Bollywood actor-director. For a good cause, the politicians across the floor of the house were good sports.

Brief Scores: Punjab CM XI: 163/3 (A Kumar 65, Amarpreet 35; Rajdeep 2/20) beat Haryana CM XI: 143/3 (K Bishnoi 52, Anurag Thakur 29*; Gautam Jain 2/16) by 20 runs. — TNS