The internet is not always a kind place. Last December, over a year after disappearing from social media, Shashank Singh had to learn this lesson the hard way as he was ridiculed for being “accidentally” acquired, publicly rejected, and eventually accepted at the 2024 IPL auctions. There was another player with the same name in the mix, which caused a brief confusion at the Punjab Kings auction table. A day later, the franchise made it known that, despite being rejected at the auction table, they had in fact been tracking the Chattisgarh finisher, who was identified as Shashank Singh. He had already been branded as a “mistake purchase” by then, though, and that was all the scent the trolls needed.
That being said, Shashank was never confused. Hitesh Goswami, the coach of Chattisgarh and a talent scout for Punjab Kings, had given the team, which was trying to bolster its Indian middle-order core, high praise for his ward. He had given Shashank advice at the same time as he was searching for an IPL team he could call home. He had made his Sunrisers Hyderabad debut in 2022 and had previously been linked to the Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals between 2017 and 20. However, on the day of the retention deadline, they decided he was surplus to their needs.
Disappointed with the outcome of the auction, in part due to the injury that prevented him from pursuing his case, Shashank withdrew from social media and concentrated only on regaining his IPL berth. He discovered that PBKS was willing to support him during their tournament opening, but he lost the first ball when he tried an unnecessary pull when a run-a-ball 8 would have sufficed, providing further fodder for the trolls.
But things have turned around for the better for him, and ever since, Shashank has celebrated with a particularly eye-catching display of joy following each successful run-chase. It’s always saved until when the work is finished, as though he’s making a statement, and it doesn’t come after fifty or a milestone. or making a correction. Whether it was the unlikely 200-person chase in Ahmedabad, the record-breaking 262-person chase at Eden Gardens, or the one in which PBKS captured the stronghold of Chepauk earlier this week. The “mistaken finisher,” who is on his own redemption arc, takes off with a huge roar and a bat raise directed towards the dugout.
Shashank stated to Cricbuzz, “I wanted to prove my backers right, not the trolls wrong.” “The fact that I was there, cheering, after guiding my side to victory, indicated that I had validated the opinions of those who had given me the chance. This applied to the entire team. There are many people here who deserve a spot in that starting XI just as much as me, but Punjab made sure I played. This squad had supported me from the beginning. Therefore, by winning the games, I did not prove anyone incorrect; rather, I validated their assertions. That party served as a small token of appreciation for all of their support.”
The 32-year-old, a journeyman in the IPL, played 10 games for SRH, only needing to bat in five of those contests. His shining moment came in the final five innings when, in an undefeated cameo of twenty-five, he hit a hat-trick of sixes against Lockie Ferguson. But he disappeared as fast as he became well-known. With few options for Indian batting, PBKS turned to the relatively unknown 32-year-old, who has since emerged as the team’s top run scorer in the 2024 Indian Premier League with 288 runs scored in 10 matches at an average of 72 and a strike-rate of nearly 170. This season, some of their biggest batting draws have fallen short of expectations. But that feeling of thankfulness is more than just a catchphrase.
“Out of the 25 people present, 24 approached me at various points following the first game and encouraged me by telling me to ‘buck up buddy, you’ll smash that exact delivery for a six’ the next time. Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar bhai, and pretty much every individual, including the management and coaches. All the assistance you require is that. Although I was aware that I could hit a six, those discussions allayed any reservations I might have had. Even for a split second, I would have thought, “Oh, I’ve been out first-ball in the debut game; next time, I’ll start safe and just look to get off the mark with a single first.” They approached me to make sure I understood that everyone was behind me and had faith in my talents. At this point, those are the things that really count.”
This unwavering faith was not just the product of his domestic coach’s persuasiveness. The fact that Dhawan, his future IPL captain, was leading the team in the DY Patil T20 Cup just before the IPL began gave Shashank “the best thing that could have happened”—a greater understanding of their newest recruit’s mentality. “They ensured that DK bhai [Dinesh Karthik] and Shikhar bhai were on my squad. That proved to be a boon as it taught me a great deal about Shikhar bhai and allowed him to learn a great deal about my game. Which fielding position do I excel at, where do I enjoy playing my shots? For this reason, I would like to give Abey Kuruvilla and Pravin Tambe enormous credit for making sure that Shikhar bhai and I were on the same team.”
Shashank’s greatest takeaway from the competition, despite his team’s lack of success, was learning from Dhawan’s visualisation techniques in the lead-up to the IPL. “Even though Punjab’s pre-season camp wasn’t scheduled to begin for another week, he nevertheless gave me instructions on how to prepare for my position at bat. I’m lucky that I had the opportunity to talk to my captain about all of those topics prior to the IPL.
“He told me that unless the circumstances were extremely dire, I wouldn’t receive 50–60 balls for the role I was selected for, therefore I should make sure I receive focused practice. I don’t have to bat for hours on end at the nets because you only get 15, 18, or at most 20 balls when you bat at Nos. 6 and 7. You should practice making the most of those. Visualize who is bowling where. For instance, if Mitchell Starc were to bowl to me, picture the field conditions he would have, the amount of the ask being this much, the wicket being Eden Gardens, and the location of my runs. Which injections I feel comfortable taking, and which ones I don’t?
And dad would always tell me to concentrate just on the positive aspects since it’s easy to get bogged down in the negativity at times. For example, if the X shot is eliminated or is not a possibility, he would advise you to consider an alternative and practice it to the next level before the game. He’s a really positive person and would never talk about the bad. He would always compliment you on how effectively you played a shot or how adept you were at pinching runs in a certain area, which would give you more confidence.
After deciding to transform himself into a finisher, Shashank refused to pass up the opportunity to speak with MS Dhoni or Karthik during his earlier IPL seasons. But Brian Lara is another cricketer who had a significant influence on Shashank’s development into the fearless hitter he is today. When the West Indies veteran and Shashank crossed paths during the latter’s final IPL season at SRH, Shashank felt this would be a “game-changer” for his career.
“He would evaluate my batting, offering advice on how to go with my innings, which bowler to take on, and how to select my angles. He would talk about a lot of specific topics since, at that level, you can’t really adjust your game too much. That’s how I feel, at least, and that’s how I’ve gotten all of my sixes thus far. It was more of a mental thing, like how to take on the bowler or take the pitch [out of the equation] if I was batting at number six or seven, or how to play my kind of game on particular wickets.
“We discussed how to prepare for a sporting event. There are occasions when you need 60 off four overs, therefore we would talk about how to stay composed. How to put off thinking about that. In a situation like that, you feel like you have to go all ‘bang bang’ from ball one, but he showed me how to just take one ball, reach the non-striker’s end, and just think [about how to pursue the ball]. You can trust your instincts and your shots if you just take a glance at the wicket.”
Not all of the talks took place in the net; some took place while playing many games of table tennis or while watching Indian Premier League matches with a friend. It also helped that an inquisitive person like Shashank had plenty of time to pick the brains of the team’s batting coach thanks to the COVID-enforced guidelines. “And the best part, you could ask him anything about red-ball cricket too even in the middle of IPL.”
Shashank had to leave the comforts of his Mumbai home and transfer teams to play for his birthplace because he was driven by a desire to succeed in first-class cricket. And he was mentally tough enough to realize that instead of striving to become just another top-of-the-order hitter, he could get the big break he had been waiting for by moving to a middle-order position or switching to a finisher’s profile.
There are several reasons for the grit and confidence. The son of an IPS officer, Shashank is grateful for his father’s years of struggle and perseverance, as well as his commitment to pushing him to pursue a cricket career in spite of his lackluster results on the Mumbai circuit. Even though he moved to Chhattisgarh, Shashank attributes his battle-hardening to the intensely competitive environment of Mumbai cricket, where he began his professional career and played club cricket with Suryakumar Yadav.
“Even if you score 1500 runs in club cricket in Mumbai, there will always be someone who has scored 1600 runs, so you can’t compete.” There is fierce rivalry, which strengthens your mental toughness.
“After that, part of it is learned from experience. In my first year at Delhi Camp, I recall being in complete amazement. I thought to myself at the time, “Oh, I’m here with Zak, ek picture lena hai, I’m sharing a dressing room with Rahul Dravid, ek picture lena hai, Angelo Mathews is the captain of Sri Lanka, let me get a click with him too.” And I don’t regret that part either because, as I see Ashutosh [Sharma, PBKS colleague] doing those things and becoming excited, I believe you should enjoy that aspect of your journey as well. Experience doesn’t always translate into something. I wouldn’t say I’ve played a lot of cricket, but I do have some experience now.
“I felt like arre, mere main hai hi nahin woh baat [I don’t think I’ve got it] while watching the most recent Indian Premier League at home. I was quite depressed.” There’s no disputing that feelings of weakness can occasionally arise, but at the moment, I’m in a very good mental place since I’m surrounded by individuals who have sent me great energy. I also think that my fear of failing has subsided. Touch wood, it did turn out, but I left for a duck first match. I now know how to accept both the good and the terrible.
“Brian I was once told by Lara Sir to never hold onto anything negative—be it thoughts, knocks, or anything else negative—and I still strive to keep that in mind constantly. Just like you receive optimistic ideas after a strong innings, you’re sure to acquire negative thoughts when you don’t score well. He advised me to simply let the bad ideas leave my system and not to think about it too much.”
Maybe that’s why Shashank didn’t lose any sleep over the internet jokes that night, despite being compelled to come out of his social media seclusion. With his older sister, however, such was not the case. “Usko bahot laga… she must have saved 128 GB phone-full of all the trolling [screenshots] that happened and now a pile of all the appreciation posts that are going around,” he laughed heartily.
To be really honest, I never gave it any thought. Individuals on the internet have an opinion… I knew I was being watched and what was going on behind the scenes, so I wasn’t overly alarmed or shaken.
“Obviously, I had no idea how things would turn out, but [in spite of all the drama] my sister always thought I would do really well this year. Do Di would often say, even before the season started, ‘I know you’re going to do big things this IPL and prove all these people wrong’. Call it intuition, but she’d always believed.”
Shashank made sure that if the spotlight had to stay on him this IPL, it was for the right reasons after all the unwelcome attention he received in the auction room six months ago. A breakthrough season that might keep him in the retention talks at PBKS is what has resulted from that mindset. In any case, more batons should be in play and a well-earned vindication should he manage to make his way back to the auction pool.
