A 17-year-old will possess a pay-cheque of Rs 4.80 crore come IPL 2019.
Prabhsimran Singh – an unheralded teenager hailing from Patiala – became one of the most astonishing buys at the IPL 2019 Auction after being picked up for that figure by Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday, 18 December.
The wicketkeeper batsman from Punjab is yet to have played a single senior-level game for his state, but has started featuring in Indian age-group teams over the past year.
Last week, Prabhsimran was part of the Indian team that finished runners-up at the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.
A Wonderkid on a Mission?
At an incredibly early age, Prabhsimran’s story is already one of a boy possessed.
In June this year, reportedly angered by being ignored from the India U-19 team, he channeled his frustration in the best way possible – hitting 298 runs off just 301 balls for Patiala in a Punjab U-23 Inter-District tournament game against Amritsar.
Indian wicketkeeper of yesteryears and former chairman of selectors Kiran More was lavish in his praise of the rising prodigy.
“ It is the big story for today and I never thought he was going to make so much money today, everybody has done their homework well, he is a quality player,” he said.
“When you’re looking at a future it is great, he is just 17, he has got to work on his wicket keeping, but as a batsman he is great, brilliant player, I would say right hand Rishabh Pant. He played at an emerging trophy in Sri Lanka, he got a few sixes, but he is a quality player with potential.”Kiran More to Star Sports
Rich Legacy, Richer Motivation
Prabhsimran is the younger cousin of Anmolpreet Singh, another young Punjab batsman who now finds himself with an IPL contract. Anmolpreet was picked up by Mumbai Indians for Rs 80 lakh.
The two cousins, in fact, shared a 239-run partnership in the game Prabhsimran made his own with the near-triple hundred.
Prabhsimran’s inspirations in cricket, according to an interview with The Live Mirror, reveal a bit about his penchant for big-hitting.
He idolises Virender Sehwag, but being a keeper-batsman, no one comes above Adam Gilchrist for the 17-year-old.
“It used to amaze me seeing the kind of wicket-keeping skills he (Gilchrist) had. After keeping for 50 overs, he used to open for Australia in limited-overs cricket. It was because of Adam Gilchrist that I fell in love with wicket-keeping.”Prabhsimran Singh, as told to The Live Mirror
All his dreams have been airlifted into the public mindspace over the course of one auction evening. Time now for Prabhsimran to greet his reality: the biggest pay-day for a player under the age of 18 in IPL history.
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