The cricketing world is full of ups and downs. Fate can be unpredictable: a wealthy man in the morning might be poor by the afternoon, and a street vendor could suddenly own the city’s most luxurious house. Cricket often sees such fairytale moments, and the latest example is Shashank Singh.
In the 2024 mini-auction, Punjab Kings aimed to sign a young player named Shashank Singh. Hearing his name, they quickly placed a bid but soon realized it was a different Shashank up for auction. Preity Zinta’s team wanted to withdraw the bid, but eventually, they kept it. In short, they ended up signing the 32-year-old unknown Shashank Singh by mistake.
In the last IPL season, Shashank Singh emerged as a remarkable finisher for Punjab Kings, scoring 354 runs in 14 matches with two half-centuries and a powerful strike rate of 164.65. Just because of this Punjab Kings retained Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh ahead of the 2025 IPL season, at INR 5.5 crore and INR 4 crore, respectively. Shashank, expressing gratitude to the franchise, said, “I am truly thankful to the team management for this opportunity and their trust in me. My responsibility now is to prove them right.”
🗣️ “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵!” 💫
Shashank is ready to bring his all for Punjab Kings. 🙌#ShashankSingh #PunjabKings #SaddaPunjab #IPLRetentions #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/qd1mitgcub
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) October 31, 2024
Shashank Singh’s journey with Punjab Kings took an unexpected turn in the 2024 IPL auction when the team picked him up for a base price of INR 20 lakh. Reports initially claimed Punjab Kings meant to select another player with the same name. Embracing the opportunity, Shashank made a strong impact, securing his spot in the lineup.
As the saying goes, if a mistake leads to something good, it’s worth making. Punjab Kings learned this lesson well. In IPL 2024, this batsman recently became the match-winner in an incredible victory against Kolkata Knight Riders. With his phenomenal batting, PBKS set a record for the highest run chase in T20 history last year.
Reflecting on his dedication, Shashank said, “I’m here to give my best, and the faith that Punjab Kings and the fans have shown drives me to perform even better. I’m focused on helping us push toward a championship win.”