The hesitation on the part of Punjab Kings’ owners transpired as there was another player by the name of ‘Shashank Singh’ who went under the hammer and was unsold.The ‘other Shashank’ was a Bengal player, while the one under the spotlight was Chhattisgarh batsman Shashank, who had played for Sunrisers Hyderabad and been a member of Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils squads in previous IPLs.
The bid was complete and the auctioneer refused to reverse the process. As conjectures and theories started circulating on social media, the franchise set the record straight and clarified that the player they had bought “was always on our target list”. To this, Shashank reacted: “It’s all cool…thank you for trusting me!!!!”
Shashank repaid that trust, fashioning a three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans with a belligerent 29-ball 61* (6×4, 4×6) in a 200-run chase.
“I visualised moments like this. But having turned it into reality, I am really happy,” Shashank told TOI during a virtual interaction on Friday. “When I go in to bat, I think I am the best in the world. I don’t think much about the bowler, his reputation. I just see the ball and react to it.”
Shashank played 10 games for Sunrisers during the 2022 IPL but didn’t perform anything noteworthy. He was mostly used at No. 7 and 8 in the batting line-up and hardly got time to show his wares.
In the 2024 season, Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan affirmed his faith in Shashank’s talent and gave him a chance to play from the first game itself.
“Shikhi pa observed me very closely in the nets and has backed me since the time he saw me in the first training session. I have to thank him and Sanjay Bangar sir (Punjab Kings’ head of cricket development) for the opportunities,” Shashank said. “He taught me a lot about the mental aspects of the game.”
Shashank currently plays for Chhattisgarh in domestic cricket, but honed his skills in the maidaans of Mumbai. He trained under noted coach (late) Vidyadhar Paradkar, who has mentored several international cricketers including Zaheer Khan, Ajinkya Rahane, Wasim Jaffer, Sameer Dighe, Nilesh Kulkarni and Abey Kuruvilla.
“I made my List A and T20 domestic debut for Mumbai, but I always wanted to play red-ball cricket. In Mumbai, I got a reality check. I am a middle-order batsman, and it was so hard to break into that Mumbai middle-order. You had Surya (Kumar Yadav), Ajju bhai (Ajinkya Rahane), Shreyas (Iyer), Shivam Dube, Sarfaraz (Khan)… five-six years back Siddhesh Lad was also doing really well. I knew it was going to be difficult to get a consistent run in Mumbai,” the 32-year-old said.
Confident of his abilities, Shashank decided to ply his trade in Puducherry before making the move to Chhattisgarh.
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“I decided to move back to my home state Chhattisgarh. I wanted to play red-ball cricket. It was emotionally very difficult for me (to leave Mumbai),” he said.
Shashank had, in fact, played age-group cricket for Madhya Pradesh before moving to Mumbai.
“In MP, I thought there was no competition for me. Mumbai cricket has instilled humility in me. Playing cricket in Mumbai helps in increasing your self-belief without losing the sense of humbleness in you.”
