The AEL Limassol winger earned the last of his 13 Bafana Bafana caps in late 2021, but after being dropped by former coach Hugo Broos, he has been given another chance by Pitso Mosimane.
To be fair to Broos, Singh did little to suggest he deserved a recall until some excellent recent club form thrust him back into the spotlight.
“It has been a long time since I’ve been part of the national team, but the dream was always the same. The goal was always the same: to work harder, work smarter and change many things for me to be able to come back and represent my country again,” Singh told reporters on Monday.
“Like every footballer, you want to be part of the national team set-up, and I’m just grateful that I’ve got another opportunity to be here. For sure, I will grab it with both hands.”
Singh will hope to be part of the side when Bafana host Guinea in a crucial 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Group D opener on Saturday, before they travel to neutral Cairo to face Eritrea on September 30. They also play Egypt in a friendly clash on October 4.
“We also need to be honest and realistic. The past few years, the national team has been doing very well. The players who were there represented the country very well, so we need to acknowledge that,” Singh said of his absence.
“But for me personally, it just motivated me to keep going and keep believing. I always had the hope and belief that one day maybe I would get another chance, and it happened.”
He knows several of the players from past camps and even the junior national teams, so should slip easily back into the mix.
“I’ve played with many of the players before and I know everyone in the team, so it is easy to come back in because I’ve shared a dressing room with many of them before. I know the quality of the players and I know how they play,” he said.
“It’s good to come into an environment that you already know and have been part of before. The culture is always the same in the national team, so for me it’s always nice to be back with them and all the memories come back of things that we have done before.”
Singh says his move to Cyprus in 2024 has been behind the rejuvenation of his career as he has finally found a happy home.
“The league has helped me a lot as well. It is a very competitive league and you have a lot of quality players and quality teams. It’s a good environment and a good space for me to be in, and it was the best place for me at this moment to get myself back into the national team,” he said.
“I’m part of the captaincy at my club. I’m not the first captain, but I’m the vice-captain. There are many leaders in the team, but I believe it also helps me because it shows the appreciation the club has for me.
“It shows that they see the hard work I’m putting in and that they respect and appreciate me. Even if I wasn’t a captain, I would always try to give my best for the club and in every game I play.
“It’s about continuing to help where I can and always giving 100 percent for the club, for the national team, wherever I play and in any game I play.”
Singh has also had spells in Sweden, Portugal and Denmark, and admits it has not always been plain sailing.
“Personally, I can’t answer what the coaches or other teams want, but I went to Europe at a young age and I have ambitions and goals that I want to achieve. Until now, I haven’t achieved all of those goals yet, so I keep trying and I keep going,” he said.
“Giving up is not in my system and it’s not in my life. I keep going after my dream.
“I’m grateful and honoured every year that I’ve been able to stay in Europe for as long as I have, and you never know what the future holds.
“I keep doing my job in this moment and just live in the present. I’m not living in the past or worrying about what tomorrow might bring. I’m focused on what I have now and making sure that I take care of my job.”