A case of mistaken identity almost ruined Punjab Kings’ successful bid for Shashank Singh during the IPL auction in December 2023. Minutes after they had bought him for Rs 20 lakh, Punjab Kings representatives seemed to tell the auctioneer that they had bid for the wrong player.
But their appeal was turned down. There was another player with the same name which led to the confusion and they issued a clarification.
“Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him onboard and see him contribute to our success,” Punjab Kings said on X a day after the auction in Dubai.
On Thursday, after the 32-year-old’s 61 not out off 29 balls took them to victory, Punjab Kings reiterated that he was always on their target. Shashank too put out a statement on X saying, “It’s All Cool … Thank you for trusting on me!!!!”
Shashank has been a journeyman in the domestic circuit, having played for Mumbai, Puducherry and Chhattisgarh. Having failed to find a berth in the Mumbai team, he decided to ply his trade in Puducherry before moving to Chhattisgarh where he made his first-class debut in 2019-20.
In the IPL, he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad before being recruited by Punjab Kings. He had a poor season in 2022 for Sunrisers accumulating only 69 runs in five innings and didn’t get a franchise last season.
Employed by the DY Patil Group, he mostly plays in the Mumbai local circuit. But he remains indebted to Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his valuable advice which played a part in his staying calm during the final stages against Gujarat Titans. At 70/4, Punjab needed 130 off 68 when he walked in on Thursday.
“Whenever I have talked with Mahibhai, he always told me to take the game as deep as possible. He said when you take the game deep, the pressure on the bowler is as much as on the batter. It’s about who keeps the nerve calm. It is all about the mental thing, to be as calm as possible..
“I was doing deep breathing to keep myself calm and react to the ball. Sometimes you be over-smart and play rash shots, but I was just looking to react to the ball,” Shashank said on Friday.
Whatever he did, it worked well and Punjab would want more of it.
