Pace bowling can be a mean job. There is a certain degree of intimidation that comes with the territory.
It’s hard to associate pacemen with rendering the soothing and melodious classical music. But then, Shakti Singh is an exception. In his playing days, he was a seamer who could work up some pace apart from being a brutal striker of the ball.
He is also a trained classical singer who ventured into Bollywood to turn a playback singer. “Music is my first love, then comes cricket,” said the 49-year-old Shakti — he was here as a match referee in the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament — to The Hindu.
Chennai connection
Shakti, who has 200 wickets and 1,416 runs in First Class cricket, representing Himachal Pradesh and then Delhi, has a strong Chennai connection.
Shakti was at the MRF Pace Foundation in the early 90s. His strong performances in the All-India YSCA tournament here fetched him a lot of attention and finally landed him a job in Central Excise as an Inspector. Now, he is a Senior Superintendent.
“I owe a lot to Chennai, the MRF and the YSCA tournament” said Shakti, who also turned out for IOB and Globe Trotters in the TNCA first division league.
While he was always a threat with the ball in domestic cricket, Shakti also struck 14 sixes, still an Indian record, during a whirlwind 128 for Himachal against Haryana in a 1990 Ranji contest.
He continued to chase his other passion — singing. Shakti got his degree in Hindustani music, and after retirement from cricket, moved to Mumbai seeking opportunities in music. “I met Shankar Mahadevan at the airport, made him listen to a couple of my songs, and got a chance to sing in one of the films where he was the music director,” revealed Shakti.
His daughter Shivaranjani Singh, following in her father’s footsteps, has sung a number in the Tamil movie Devi. For Shakti, the family tradition continues.