NEW DELHI:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
all-rounder
Swapnil Singh
, who made a significant impact after joining the Indian Premier League in the second half of the season, shared his heartfelt cricket journey and his relationship with star batter
Virat Kohli
.
RCB staged a remarkable comeback from a dismal start, where they won just one of their first eight games, to secure six consecutive victories and a place in the playoffs.
Swapnil played a pivotal role during this resurgence, contributing with both bat and ball. He has scored 28 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 164.70 and taken six wickets at an average of 19.00 and an economy rate of 8.76, with his best figures being 2/28.
Swapnil, born in Lucknow but representing Baroda from 2005 to 2020 and currently playing for Uttarakhand, shared the emotional highs and lows of his career. His cricketing journey began with his father, who was his first coach and driving force.
"My father was my first coach. I am playing cricket because of him. It was his passion to make me play that made this all possible. I was in class sixth when I shifted to Baroda for my cricket. He wanted me to become a batter. When I came to Baroda, I started to bowl. I made my Ranji debut at the age of 14 years and 355 days," he recalled.
Swapnil's connection with Virat Kohli dates back to their U15 and U19 days, where they were roommates during tours to Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
"When I met him after so many years, it felt so warm. We were meeting after so many years, asked each other about our lives and families. It felt really good," he added.
Swapnil's IPL journey began with Mumbai Indians in 2008, although he made his league debut for Punjab Kings in 2017, playing four games. He reminisced about his first IPL encounter and his memorable wicket of MS Dhoni.
"I was picked in 2008 for Mumbai Indians. Sachin (Tendulkar) is like a god to us all. When I met him and interacted with him for the first time ever, it felt good. My IPL debut happened against CSK while playing for PBKS. Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) was my captain. I had taken just one wicket, of MS Dhoni, caught and bowled," said Swapnil.
A major setback came in 2020 when Swapnil was unexpectedly dropped from the Baroda team despite consistent performances. However, this led to a new opportunity in Uttarakhand, thanks to the support of former cricketer
Irfan Pathan
.
"It was a blessing in disguise because when you are thrown out of your house, you learn to stand on your feet. Now I realize Baroda did good to me, otherwise I would have been finished," said Swapnil.
Swapnil's return to IPL was facilitated by Deepak Hooda, who invited him to join Lucknow Super Giants as a net bowler. His impressive performance caught the attention of coaches Andy Flower and Narendra Hirwani.
"Deepak Hooda is like a brother to me. When he called me to become a net bowler for LSG, I cut the phone and abused him (laughs). He called me again to think about it. Irfan told me to go. I was like I have played in IPL myself. The concept of net bowler had started just then. I went hesitatingly. Coach Andy Flower was impressed with me. I was bowling from ball one till the last. Narendra Hirwani was impressed with me, he was our spin coach. He flipped me 180-degree as a bowler. I talked to Andy as to why he did not try me in batting. He also made me bat. GG bhai (Gautam Gambhir, then LSG mentor) was also there, they were impressed with batting too. Andy has a big role to play in all this," said Swapnil.
Swapnil's journey with RCB began after he impressed at a trials-cum-camp organized by the team. He described the emotional moment when he was informed of his selection by his family.
"When RCB picked me up, they had conducted a trials-cum-camp. I asked Andy to give me one more chance, that could have also been my last. He invited me for the camp. The camp was average. When the auction was happening, I was traveling to Dehradun for the Ranji Trophy. When I landed, it must be 7 or 8 PM. The last rounds of the auction must have been going on. Nothing had happened. I had also missed it thinking that it's over. I wanted to play this ongoing season and one more season if possible since I did not want to do this all my life. I was very disappointed. I thought there were other things to conquer. But then my family called me, and we just broke down. Nobody knows how emotional this journey has been for me," he added.
Throughout his journey, Swapnil remained dedicated, treating each net session as a match. His efforts were rewarded with a chance to play and contribute to RCB's successful campaign.
"When we were losing, I thought fans would abuse us. But fans were not going down. It was shocking to me. I felt really good that fans are really loyal to us. I used to talk to my brother that I wanted to hit just a four and six in the IPL, since I have a wicket. I got to do that as well. On my seventh ball of my first over (in which he bowled a no ball), I got a wicket. It is all God's work," he concluded.
(With inputs from ANI)
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