We all remember the first T20 World Cup back in 2007. MS Dhoni still had his iconic long hair. And Joginder Sharma was a new face who bowled us over. It was the final over of the match, and the opposition Pakistan seemed to have the game in hand. As an in-form batsman, Misbah-ul-Haq was on the crease. But the match was turned around thanks to Joginder Sharma, who managed to get the batsman out in the nick of time and help win India the inaugural T20 WorldCup.
Fast forward to 2020, the medium-pacer is now a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Haryana Police, posted in Hisar. He is on the front lines during this global pandemic, and one of his key roles during the lockdown is to patrol the roads and educate people about the severity of the virus in Hisar.
The cricketer-turned-cop feels that handling the pandemic is more difficult than bowling the last over in the T20 finals. In a recent interview, he said that it’s because in the current scenario people lives are at stake.
We’ve seen videos of cops beating up violaters or punishing them by making them do sit-ups, but Joginder focuses on explaining to them the gravity of the situation. He feels that there are people who don’t watch TV or read the newspaper and takes it upon himself to explain the situation to them. But when it comes to miscreants, he is quick to register a case when needed.
2007: #T20WorldCup hero ?
2020: Real world hero ?
In his post-cricket career as a policeman, India's Joginder Sharma is among those doing their bit amid a global health crisis.
pic.twitter.com/2IAAyjX3Se— ICC (@ICC) March 28, 2020
At this point, Joginder’s goal is to make his area corona free and feels that it’ll be a victory if he manages to keep his area safe till we’re out of this emergency situation. We hope he manages to reach his goal as he did 13 years back.