Pankaj Singh

A tall, well-built lad from a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, Pankaj Singh is a promising fast-bowler who burst into the domestic scene as an 18-year-old with raw pace back in 2003. He subsequently played Under-19 cricket for India initially and moved to the domestic fold after some solid performances in age-group cricket. After his family moved to Rajasthan, Pankaj caught eyes of the selectors was handed a first-class debut for Rajasthan during the 2004/05 Ranji Trophy season.

After a few years of nurturing and honing, perhaps developing his talents, he re-emerged in 2006 and almost single-handedly took Rajasthan to the final of the Ranji Plate league, with 21 wickets at a commendable average of 20.95. At this point, he was 21 and he as starting to climb up the ladder rather quickly. In 2007, he toured Zimbabwe and Kenya with the India A side, taking 18 wickets across the tournament, and making good use of his height in the slower tracks that weren't particularly conducive to fast bowling, earning a spot in the side for the subsequent series against South Africa A.

After peaking in his performances in the fag-end of 2007, he earned a call-up to India's Test squad for the tour Down Under in the absence of Sreesanth and Munaf Patel who were ailing from injuries. He did not, however, get a game as Ishant Sharma and RP Singh were given preference over him. He signed with the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL before being signed by RCB before the second season in South Africa. He continued to go in and out of the side, and made his next comeback in 2010 on India's periodic tour to Zimbabwe with the sole purpose of giving youngsters a go.

After another unsuccessful stint in the side, Pankaj had a 5-year hiatus from international cricket (2009-2014) including big-match performances of extraordinary magnitude which included leading Rajasthan to the Ranji title in 2010 and 2011, making him an instant local hero. All the hardwork finally came to fruition, when he was handed a coveted Test cap on the tour to England in 2014. And thence began a journey riddled with desperation and rotten luck for an ageing fast bowler who was quickly getting past his prime.

Pankaj did not feature in the first two Test matches. However, after Lord's hero, Ishant Sharma, was sidelined due to injury, Pankaj was handed a Test cap for the third Test at Southampton with India having taken a 1-0 lead in the second Test at Lord's. His luckless performance made headlines as he bowled his heart out, had catches dropped off him, had LBW shouts negated, and had the English batsmen jumping. India regretted opting out of DRS and Pankaj Singh paid dearly for it by going luckless and wicketless in his first Test match. However, his incisive effort in helpful conditions earned him a lot of richly deserved praise; a trait Indians aren't particularly well-known for exhibiting.

After being picked for the 4th Test and finally picking his maiden Test wicket, Pankaj fell by the wayside and had to go back to the grind of domestic cricket as younger talent found its feet in the national setup. He continues to play Ranji cricket and remains the spearhead of Rajasthan's pace attack.

Written by Rishi Roy