IPL 2024 is showcasing a new Indian talent every day.
On Tuesday, it was Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mayank Yadav, on Wednesday it was Kolkata's Angkrish Raghuvanshi and on Thursday, Shashank Singh stole the show as he led Punjab's chase of 200 with an unbeaten half-century against the Gujarat Titans.
With all hopes faded, coming in to bat with 89 needed off 7 overs, the 32 year old revived the team's fortunes. He stood out with a 29-ball 61 to take his team across the finish line, his innings laced with six hits to the boundary and four maximums.
Shashank came into the limelight ahead of this year's IPL over a mistaken identity at the IPL auction in December. According to some reports, Shashank was an accidental buy as Punjab Kings were chasing another player with the name.
Clearing the air, the franchise later released a statement, stating that Shashank Singh 'was always on our list.'
And the young man repaid the faith of the franchise and how!
Shashank's cricketing journey took him from Mumbai to Puducherry to Chhattisgarh whom he now represents in the Ranji Trophy.
An able all-rounder, he first played for Mumbai in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2015, but with no assured place in the squad, he moved to Puducherry where he played one List A game.
He blossomed fully when he joined Chhattisgarh. He made his First Class debut with the team in the 2019-2020 season and was instrumental in Chhattisgarh win over Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2020-21 season -- it was a first for the team.
According to ESPNCricinfo, in 2023, Shashank became the first Indian, and third cricketer after West Indies great Alvin Kallicharran and South African Mike Procter, to score 150-plus runs and take five wickets in the same List A game, the record coming against Manipur.
Turning a few pages back into IPL's history show us that Shashank's favourite opposition seems to be Gujarat Titans.
In his IPL debut, playing for SunRisers Hyderabad in 2022, he smoked Lockie Ferguson for three sixes and took 25 runs off him in the final over to help his team post 195 for 6. Shashank had scored 25 off just 6 balls in that match.
He went on to play 10 matches that season but with less significant contributions he went unsold at the auction table for the 2023 season.
Coming back into the IPL, he had a point to prove to his franchise and his doubters and he did it in style! Shashank Redemption indeed!
