Punjab batter Shashank Singh hogged the limelight on Thursday after he produced a match-winning knock against last season’s finalists Gujarat in a pulsating Indian T20 League 2024 encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Chasing a target of 200, Punjab were reduced to 70/4 in 8.4 overs as the visitors lost the wickets of captain Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh and Sam Curran in quick succession.
Chhattisgarh-born Shashank Singh later walked out to bat at No. 6 with Punjab needing 130 runs off 68 balls.
The 32-year-old then stitched crucial partnerships with Sikandar Raza, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma and debutant Ashutosh Sharma to keep Punjab in the hunt.
With the required run-rate rising at a brisk pace with the loss of Sikandar Raza and Jitesh Sharma at the other end, Shashank Singh played a heroic knock to pull off a miracle in the ongoing Indian T20 League.
The swashbuckling right-handed batter slammed unbeaten 61 off just 29 balls to help Punjab chase down the target of 200 in 19.5 overs.
Shashank was ably supported by young Ashutosh Sharma, who hammered 31 runs off 17 balls on his Indian T20 League debut.
Earlier, the uncapped Indian cricketer grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the Indian T20 League 2024 auction in December.
Interestingly, Punjab accidentally purchased Shashank at the mini auction. The franchise soon realised their mistake after the auctioneer had completed the bid.
In an attempt to rectify their error, the franchise approached auctioneer Mallika Sagar for a reversal and re-enter Shashank in the auction.
However, the reversal was denied as per Indian T20 League auction regulations which states that once the hammer confirms a purchase, the player is sold and cannot be reversed. Know Shashank Singh 2024 salary.
Shashank Singh 2024 salary
Punjab acquired the services of Shashank Singh for his base price of INR 20 lakh at the Indian T20 League auction.
Meanwhile, Shashank Singh net worth is estimated to be around INR 1.50-1.80 crore.
In February 2017, Delhi bought Shashank for the first time in the Indian T20 League for INR 10 lakh.
Later in December 2018, Rajasthan bought him at the Indian T20 League auction for INR 30 lakh.
In February 2022, Hyderabad bagged Shashank for INR 20 lakh at the Indian T20 League auction.
Unfortunately, he remained unsold in Indian T20 League 2023.
Having shown glimpses of what he is capable of in the Indian T20 League 2024, Shashank will aim to continue his scintillating form for Punjab in the marquee T20 tournament.
Despite being a new face in the Indian T20 League, Shashank has already played 21 first-class games, 30 List A matches and 59 T20 matches in domestic cricket.
Photo credit: Alamy
