Robin Singh.

Those who took part in the TNCA league during the 1983-84 season will remember the excitement a young tearaway fast bowler from Trinidad created when he came to play for the Madras Cricket Club, courtesy Akbar Ebrahim, the club's talented opening batsman. Akbar had met Robindra Ramnarayan Singh in Trinidad when he had gone to play there on a private tour. Impressed by the young cricketer, Akbar invited him to play for his club in Madras.

Robin Singh was a phenomenon, a bundle of energy and athleticism we had never imagined in our local cricket. As a right arm pace bowler, he was probably as quick as T.A. Sekar, our fastest then, and so aggressive that he invariably came within wrestling distance of the batsman in his follow-through. His appeals and screams of rage and frustration were terrifying war cries that reverberated around the near empty stadium, which by then had become normal in local cricket, unlike even during the 1960s and 70s, when crowds thronged league matches. Robin brought the crowds back.

Robin had played for the Trinidad Youth side along with a left-hand batsman of promise called Brian Lara. Born in Trinidad to Indian parents whose ancestors had migrated from India, Robin Singh probably realised that with his fast medium bowling, he was never going to make it to the West Indies team, then dominated by some of the greatest fast bowlers in the world. In Madras, he created quite a sensation with his (what was to us) raw pace, spectacular fielding, and solid left-handed batting, marked by sound defence and powerful stroke play. However, with his bottom-handed approach and partiality to backfoot punches on both sides of the wicket, often through the aerial route, he was never known for grace, but he time and again proved that he could turn a match on its head with his daring and self-belief.

Robin settled quickly in his new environment, quite at home on the matting wickets he encountered outside Chepauk. He joined Pachaiyappa's College and within a couple of years he was playing for Madras University. He was soon one of its outstanding players. In the 1986-1987 Rohinton Baria tournament, he scored 380 runs and took 23 wickets.

Selected for the State's Ranji Trophy team the next year, he made a tremendous impact with his consistent all round displays and played a vital role in the team's triumph in the Ranji Trophy in the 1987-88 season after a lapse of 33 years.

Starting with an eleven-wicket haul against Kerala, Robin finished that season on a dream note scoring successive hundreds in the Ranji Trophy semifinal and final matches. His 152 against Punjab and 131 against Railways, along with outstanding performances by all its leading batsmen, clinched the trophy for Tamil Nadu. Besides his 555 runs for the season, Robin also took 17 wickets and held ten catches.

That memorable season earned Robin a place in the Indian squad that toured the West Indies next season. On that tour, he had few opportunities, not playing in any of the Tests, and making a quiet debut in ODIs at Port of Spain. (In fact, Robin played only one Test in his career, at Harare against Zimbabwe in 1998-1999.)

That Robin had to wait for seven long years before being selected to represent India again, is now part of Indian cricket lore. Through his years of waiting, Robin never gave up hope. He kept himself extremely fit, training hard, running ten or more laps round the ground regularly. He was Tamil Nadu and South Zone cricket's Mr Reliable throughout the period, and led the State side by example. His marriage to a South Indian girl helped him settle down comfortably in Chennai. It also brought him the solid support base of a family and friends who cared, even as the call to play for India took forever to materialise.

It was for the Titan Cup tournament in October/November 1996, involving India, South Africa and Australia, that the selectors finally recalled Robin Singh. By then 33 years old, he was nevertheless fitter than most players far younger. His bowling had mellowed into an intelligent medium pace, yards slower than in earlier years but more accurate. His batting had matured considerably, but he could belt the ball really hard when needed. In fact, he could be quite explosive. And his fielding in almost any position was brilliant.

His extraordinary batting feats in the triangular series involving India, South Africa and Zimbabwe in South Africa, enabled India to qualify for the finals there against all odds. This was the indication that with Robin Singh around and a few wickets in hand, no target was unattainable in one-day cricket. He hit huge sixes against some of the quicker bowlers in the world and was one of the rare batsmen to dominate off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq completely. His bowling too turned a few matches upside down.

Robin Singh's contribution to the team effort made him a permanent fixture in the one-day team, in which he was one of the most flexible options, someone who could bat as a pinch-hitter at one drop or chase near-impossible targets, batting at no. 7 or 8, and going berserk at the death. Time and again, he proved to be an expert finisher. Add to this his clever changes of pace as a bowler and acrobatic fielding, and he was every captain's dream player.

His playing days now over, Robin continues to be associated with the game as a coach. Besides heading the MAC Spin Academy for a few years after V.V. Kumar called it a day, he has carried out several coaching assignments in India and abroad, including Singapore, the West Indies and the USA. Despite his stints as a fielding coach with the Indian team and the Mumbai Indians being the most high profile of his assignments, Robin Singh continues to go about his job with quiet dedication as he has always done.

* Madras Province/State/Tamil Nadu.