FEATURES
Follow Us“It's about the ball, not the bowler.” That pretty much summed up Shashank Singh’s approach during his courageous knock against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad, where he scored an unbeaten 61 off 29 balls to help Punjab Kings (PBKS) chase down 200.
Life has not always been hunky-dory for Shashank, who has toiled hard in domestic cricket before getting picked in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having started off playing for Madhya Pradesh till the Under-17 level, he moved to Mumbai, representing them in plenty of Under-19 matches in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy and the Cooch Behar Trophy.
From thereon, he played in the DY Patil T20 Cup in 2012. It was impressive performances in that tournament that ultimately led him to make his debut for Mumbai against Odisha in the 2015 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
He went on to play the 50-over format as well, but a first-class bow eluded him.
Now plying his trade with Chhattisgarh, Shashank believes that the hard yards he put in during his time in Mumbai have paid off.
“When I played for Bombay...you know the struggles in Bombay, you have to take a local train from your place all the way to the ground. All those things matter. When you go to the ground, you just feel like performing. All the struggles of the past, you just want to perform there,” Shashank told reporters on April 5 (Friday).
“When I was playing white-ball cricket in Bombay. You know Bombay is the Mecca of Cricket. So, playing for DY Patil for years, you need to score that many runs to get into Bombay. Getting into the Bombay side is a very difficult thing for a middle-order batsman because you see their middle-order batsmen for the last 10-12 years...the players who are playing for Bombay are doing extremely well…You see in the Indian team as well – Surya [Suryakumar Yadav], Shreyas [Iyer], Prithvi [Shaw], Sarfaraz [Khan] everyone.
“The only thing was self-belief. You have to believe in yourself that you are capable enough to be amongst them. That self-belief was always there in Bombay; those things came from Bombay to me. When I was in MP, I thought I was the best, and there was no competition because MP cricket wasn't that strong then.
“When I moved from MP to Bombay, I got a reality check about where I stand and how hard I need to work. It was an eye-opener for me. When I saw talents like Siddhesh Lad and Suryakumar Yadav - they are fabulous. When I saw them batting, I was nowhere near them.”
Since moving to Chhattisgarh, he has gotten the opportunity to play first-class cricket, and also further honed his white-ball skills. He also continues to play in the DY Patil tournament, which was initially a stepping stone for him to play for the Mumbai senior side.
It was when Delhi Capitals (DC) picked him up at the auction in 2017 and later Rajasthan Royals (RR) secured his services in 2019. But it was Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who gave him his first break in the IPL in 2022.
While he did not get a chance to bat in the first five matches last season, he grabbed his opportunity with both hands, incidentally against GT, smashing an unbeaten 25 off just six deliveries at the Wankhede Stadium, but in his next four innings, he failed to go past 15.
He was not retained for the following season, but he remained hopeful of playing the 2023 season with some team. However, it wasn’t to be, and that affected Shashank greatly, with thoughts of giving up the game crossing his mind.
“There was a time last year when I couldn't be in the IPL, and I was down, playing Ranji Trophy and was not able to concentrate much. I always felt I belonged at this level and that I could win matches for my team,” Shashank said.
“But when I was not there in the IPL, I was quite frustrated. During that time, I was thinking whether I should play or not. My mind went this way, that way, and the Ranji Trophy was going on.
“But at that time, my family really supported me. They always believed in me at times when I thought this game wasn't meant for me, I'm not good enough.”
However, instead of giving up, Shashank rose from that, working hard on his fitness – both physically and mentally.
“Last year, when I couldn't get into the IPL, I worked more on my fitness and the mental part of my game,” the 32-year-old said.
“I think I have done decent work in the technical part; I keep on doing that. I worked on my fitness, especially the mental part, how I can trust myself more, how I can take these crunch-situation matches, and how I can win these matches. I've worked on my bowling as well. I tried to work on my variations and how I can be smart when I have the ball in my hand.”
There was a bit of confusion when Shashank was bought for INR 20 lakh at the auction. Initially, it was believed that PBKS were after another Shashank Singh and bid for their current player by mistake, but that was not the case.
“I didn't feel like there was any problem. The next day, I got a call from Sanjay [Bangar] sir. He said I was always on their list and we know Punjab's trend over the last 15 years. They have always picked domestic talents in their team,” he said.
It’s All Cool … Thank you for Trusting on me!!!! https://t.co/Gs9hOnRspa
— shashank singh (@shashank2191) December 20, 2023
“Even this year, our team has about 7-8 domestic talent who got their reward after a good show in the domestic circuit. So, there is no question of any tension in the dressing room or the management. The environment is quite chill.”
All this has resulted in Shashank developing an immense belief in his own abilities.
“When you go to bat, you have to believe that you are the best batsman in the world, regardless of who the bowler is in front of you. If I believe he is better than me, he will gobble me up. So, every time I go out to bat, I always believe I am the best among all the players here and I can finish the game,” he said.
“This belief has come with time and experience, as I have played for Bombay and Chhattisgarh for such a long time and have played in different situations and conditions. So, that belief has come from there.”
While PBKS’ faith in Shashank proved fruitful in the game against GT, it could very well be the beginning of long, successful innings with the franchise.
Today seems like the perfect day to finally talk about things that were said in the past about us at the auction. A lot of people in similar situations would have lost confidence, buckled under pressure or become de-motivated ……. but not Shashank ! He is not like a lot of… pic.twitter.com/OAPfLFKwxq
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) April 5, 2024
With the sort of trust the team management’s has shown in him, it seems as though the hard-hitting middle-order batter is here to stay.
