Gagandeep Singh, the 19-year-old left-arm spinner who was shot dead in Meerut late Friday night, was not only a promising cricketer but a good human being as well, family members and friends recollected.

Born on March 9, 1991, Gagandeep took to cricket, inspired by his uncle Devendra Singh, who had represented UP at Ranji Trophy. “For Gagan, cricket was life, and his only aim was to find a permanent place in the Indian cricket team as a left-arm spinner. While bowling in nets or match, he always carried a photograph of his uncle (Devendra) in his pocket,” said his father Surendra Singh, a truck driver.

A first-year commerce student of Dayanand Anglo Vedic College , Gagandeep had represented the state junior teams over the past five years. In 2004, he was selected in the UP under-15 team for the Polly Umrigar Trophy. Two seasons later, he was picked in the state under-17 team for the Vijay Merchant Trophy. Last season, the left-arm spinner was successful in finding a place in UP under-19 team for the Cooch Behar Trophy, before making it to the India under-19 team which toured Australia earlier this year.

Ankit Pandey, who represented the UP under-19 and UP under-22 team along with Gagandeep, said the spinner was the most hardworking of the lot. “He used to come to the ground at 7 in the morning and leave for lunch at 12. Thereafter he would return at 3 and practise till 7,” Pandey recalled. “He was desperate to help his father run the family.”

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