NEW DELHI: Prabhsimran Singh was in the middle of a gym session when the call he had been waiting for finally arrived. After building consistency with Punjab Kings, the opener earned his maiden India call-up for the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe later this month.But before celebrating with anyone else, Prabhsimran rushed home. Waiting there was his father, Sardar Surjit Singh, who is battling serious health issues and undergoes regular dialysis. Despite his condition, he rarely misses watching his son’s matches. When Prabhsimran broke the news that he had finally been selected for India, emotions took over.“Kaafi time ke baad aaya hai paaji. Hum sab wait kar rahe the. Waheguru da shukar hai [It has come after a long wait, paaji. We had all been waiting for it. Thank God],” Prabhsimran told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.“Papa ki tabiyat aisi hai ki woh khud se uth nahi paate [My father’s health is such that he can’t even get up on his own]. But when we told him the news, he got up by himself.“If this happiness can improve his health by even one percent, it would mean the world to me. Woh bas yahi bol rahe the, ‘Ab ja raha hai to neeche nahi aana.’ Aur bas ek hi baat kahi – ‘Aur mehnat karo [He just kept saying, ‘Now that you’re going, don’t come back down.’ And he told me only one thing: ‘Work even harder],’ ” he said.
After struggling for consistent opportunities in his early IPL years, his breakthrough came in 2023 when he scored 358 runs, including his maiden IPL century. He followed it up with 334 runs in 2024 before taking another leap with back-to-back 500-plus seasons in 2025 and 2026. More importantly, he began converting starts into substantial scores, progressing from one fifty and a century in 2023 to four fifties in 2025 and six fifties in IPL 2026.“I had been waiting for this for a long time because earlier I didn’t get enough opportunities to play. Once I started getting proper chances, I just tried to give my best and things went well. I have had two good seasons in a row. So somewhere, I did have the hope that I would get an opportunity on one of the tours. But I wasn’t thinking too much about it because my mindset has always been the same – whether it’s a district club match or an IPL game, I just want to perform well. The IPL is such a big stage. If you do well there, everything gets noticed. I’m grateful that I’ve got this opportunity. I just pray that things go well there too,” Prabhsimran said.
The grind never lies
Prabhsimran strengthened his case further after back-to-back 500-plus IPL seasons with India A in Sri Lanka, scoring 97 runs in three matches, including a half-century.He has now been picked as India’s second wicketkeeper-batter behind Ishan Kishan, with Sanju Samson surprisingly left out.One of the biggest improvements in Prabhsimran’s game has been his consistency. His aggressive approach at the top has remained unchanged, but over the last few seasons he has learned to stay longer at the crease and convert starts into match-winning knocks. From scoring 20s and 30s in his early years, he now regularly turns them into fifties, while maintaining a strike rate in excess of 160. When he received his India A jersey, he summed up his journey perfectly with an Instagram post that read: “The grind never lies.”
The aggressive opener, who earlier often threw away promising starts, has learned to convert them into match-winning knocks. He smashed six fifties in IPL 2026, averaging 42.50 at a strike rate of 168.87, while also hitting 23 sixes.Prabhsimran said the transformation came after realising that surviving at the highest level required much more than explosive starts.“As you know, this is such a big platform. Earlier, I used to feel that scoring 25 or 30 runs was a good start before getting out. But over the last two years, I have had only one thing on my mind — if I want to sustain myself at this level, I need to add something to my game. My focus has been on converting those 25s and 30s into bigger scores. Sometimes 25 or 30 runs are important too, but if the team loses, those runs don’t really mean much. My only aim is that whatever runs I score should contribute to the team’s victory. Once I get set, I think about finishing the game,” the wicketkeeper-batter said.
Ultimate dream: ‘India ke liye khelna hai’
Prabhsimran’s journey to the India team took a different route from many of his age-group teammates. While players like Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh broke into the national side earlier, the Punjab Kings opener had to wait longer for his opportunity.While his cousin Anmolpreet Singh represented India at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, Prabhsimran missed out on playing the tournament. Two years later, however, he captained India to the Under-19 Asia Cup title, leading a side featuring Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Ayush Badoni to a 144-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final.“We have all played together since our age-group cricket days. I’m really happy for them. We have grown together. Whenever I saw them making it, I always felt my turn would come too. We do speak whenever they perform well. Sometimes I also speak to their parents. We don’t really talk much about cricket. Our conversations are mostly about how we’re doing and just having fun,” Prabhsimran said.“I stay with Arshdeep in Punjab [PBKS]. Sometimes Abhishek also joins us during the domestic season. I share a great bond with both of them. We even have six-hitting competitions during practice. You learn a lot from each other.”
For Prabhsimran, everything he had worked towards ultimately came down to one goal – representing India.“I have always had just one thing on my mind – to play for India. When I got the opportunity, it was in the Asia Cup. I was made captain and we also won the tournament. Things kept falling into place gradually. If an opportunity comes, thank God for it. If it doesn’t, keep waiting for your chance and continue working hard. I have always been a calm person. My only dream was to represent India. Now I have made it to the team. It will be a huge moment if I get my debut. If I perform well, I will earn more opportunities,” he said.
Fitness and keeping changed everything
Prabhsimran’s improvement over the last few seasons has not just been about scoring more runs. Alongside becoming a more consistent batter, he has also taken on the demanding role of wicketkeeper across formats.Now a regular wicketkeeper for Punjab Kings, the 25-year-old believes the additional responsibility has naturally pushed him to improve his fitness. Keeping wickets through an entire IPL season, followed by domestic cricket across formats, has demanded greater endurance and consistency, something he believes has played an equally important role in his development.“Fitness is very important if you want to be consistent. I’m also keeping wickets. I kept wickets throughout the IPL season and in domestic cricket as well. So fitness is something you have to work on. The key is to stay consistent in whatever you do, whether it’s practice or training,” Prabhsimran said.“It’s because of wicketkeeping. In domestic cricket, you play one-day matches, T20s and red-ball cricket. It’s a very long season. If you’re keeping wickets regularly, the responsibility becomes even greater. So I focused even more on my fitness, batting and wicketkeeping. It wasn’t really about losing weight. I was fine even before that,” he said.
The Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting effect
Prabhsimran believes Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting have played a major role in his transformation by giving him complete freedom and backing him to play his natural game.Having been with the Punjab franchise since 2019, he feels his biggest growth came after Iyer took over as captain and Ponting arrived as head coach ahead of the 2025 season. The timing also coincided with the most productive phase of his IPL career.
Rather than changing his aggressive approach, the backing from the team management helped him trust it for longer and convert promising starts into substantial innings.“When Shreyas became the Punjab Kings captain, he spoke to me. He told me just one thing: ‘I’m giving you complete freedom. Don’t think that there’s a problem if you get out playing your shot.’ When a captain gives you that kind of freedom, you can truly back your game. He also told me that I had been with the franchise for quite some time and should see myself as a senior player. He said, ‘You have my complete backing. Just back your own game,’” Prabhsimran said.Prabhsimran also recalled the call he received from Ponting after being retained by Punjab Kings.“When Shashank and I were retained, Ponting sir called us. The biggest thing that stayed with me was when he said, ‘You’re a good player, but I can make you an even better player.’ It’s been two years now and my consistency has improved as well. He has played a huge role in that. He also tells me that if I get out playing a particular shot, it’s not a problem. The next time, play that shot again with the same confidence. And if you’re getting out because of a poor shot, work on it and turn it into a productive option,” he said.
Learning from Yuvraj Singh
Prabhsimran also credits former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for playing a significant role in his development, both on and off the field.For him, Yuvraj is just a phone call away whenever he needs advice, whether on cricket or life. As his game evolved over the last two IPL seasons and his consistency improved, Prabhsimran continued to lean on the former India star for guidance.“Paaji has obviously played a huge role. It’s very important to have people who can guide you. Whenever any of us – whether it’s me, Abhishek or any other player – get some free time, we can always call Paaji. If we need practice, he arranges it himself. His role has been immense. He also explains how you can take your game one step further,” he said.After receiving his maiden India call-up, Yuvraj was among the first people Prabhsimran informed.“He was very happy. He said that the moment we had been waiting for for so long had finally arrived. Now the only thing left is to work even harder. I told him, ‘Paaji is busy right now. I’ll work with him once he’s free,’” said Prabhsimran.
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