Virat Singh is a dynamic left-hand batsman who can bat at No. 3 as well as finish an innings in white-ball cricket. The talented southpaw had just missed the U-19 express but his tlent has finally brought him to the place that he deserves thoroughly. Virat is expected to don his maiden IPL cap this season.
Singh was 16 when he made his debut for Jharkhand in all three formats. Back then he was looking to break into the India Under-19 squad with the hope of playing the 2016 U-19 World Cup. But a bout of appendicitis put a halt to his plans. Virat, soon after his Ranji Trophy debut on December 2014, against Assam, scored a maiden first-class century in his second match itself and showed his mettle on the big stage.
In 2016-17, Singh played under MS Dhoni's captaincy in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. Jharkhand progressed to the semi-finals that season, but Singh had an underwhelming tournament, managing only 50 runs in six innings. With some help from Rajiv Kumar, the Jharkhand coach, Singh got a gig with the Seaham Park Cricket Club in the Durham League in 2018.
The hard-hitting middle-order batter had a rather productive Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, finishing the 2019-20 season as eighth-highest run-getter with 343 runs in 10 games at an average of 57.16 - the best for Jharkhand.
He was also on the radar of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. At a Sunrisers trial, he struck four sixes and four fours in a slog-overs scenario (between overs 14 and 20) and helped hunt down about 70 in six overs. Impressed by the performance of Virat in the trials, SRH and Kings XI Punjab engaged in a fierce bidding war that saw Virat's signing amount hike up nearly10 times his base price of INR 20 Lakhs to INR 1.9 Cr. The 2020 IPL season will be a huge learning curve for the youngster who will e rubbing shoulders with the best in the business.
Virat and his brother used to play cricket in the backyard of their house. Virat’s father, Vinod Singh got fed up with the regularly smashed windowpanes in his house,enrolled both his sons to the open Jharkhand Cricket Academy and the rest they say has been history.
