IPL 2020: Tracing the journey of Sunrisers Hyderabad's exciting new recruit Virat Singh
Roped in by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a hefty ₹1.9 crores, Virat Singh promises to be an interesting addition to IPL 2020. The jovial youngster has had an impressive cricketing journey so far and will be looking to come into the spotlight during his debut IPL season.
Hailing from Jharkhand's Jamshedpur, the 22-year-old has had a fantastic domestic career. The youngster broke into Jharkhand's Under-19 setup when he was just 14. Singh captained his state in the Cooch Behar Trophy during the 2013-14 season when he was only 15 years old.
The gifted southpaw was in scintillating form with the bat and soon broke into the senior Jharkhand team and made his Ranji Trophy debut back in December 2014.
Sharing his name with the Indian team skipper, Singh deservedly earned big at the recent IPL Auctions and will be looking to make a name for himself now.
A terrific batting display in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20 in addition to a good show during SRH's net sessions is what won the talented left-hander a fat paycheque of ₹1.9 crores.
An intense bidding war ensued between Kings XI Punjab and SRH to acquire the services of the youngster, but it was eventually won by the Hyderabad-based franchise.
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In the previous Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which is India's premier inter-state T20 tournament, Singh scored 343 runs in 10 matches at a splendid strike rate of 142.32 and a tremendous average of 57.16. The youngster, who also scored three fifties during the tournament, was the highest run-getter for Jharkhand and also rescued his state from tricky situations on multiple occasions.
Singh scored a quickfire 67* off 38 deliveries against Saurashtra and a fantastic 56* off 32 deliveries against Gujarat. Jharkhand ended up winning both these matches rather comfortably. However, his best knock of 76* off 44 deliveries against Karnataka came in a losing cause.
Regardless, the left-hander, whose batting style is reminiscent to that of Suresh Raina, did more than enough to grab the attention of the IPL teams' talent scouts. During the 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy, Singh scored a sensible 76 off 96 balls for India C in their match against India B, thereby guiding his side to a comfortable 136-run victory.
Singh already has the ability to pace his innings extremely well, an asset that will prove to be very handy during the IPL. Additionally, he can also bowl right-arm leg-spin on occasion.
An MS Dhoni fanatic, Singh will soon have an opportunity to play against someone whom he looks up to. The Jharkhand left-hander, who will almost certainly get a plethora of opportunities to play in SRH, will also be looking forward to picking the brains of seasoned cricketers such as David Warner and Kane Williamson.
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SRH have Jonny Bairstow and Warner at the top with the likes of Manish Pandey, Williamson, Vijay Shankar, and Singh himself forming the middle order. The youngster is accustomed to playing in multiple batting positions in domestic cricket and his adaptability is also to likely help him earn a place in the starting XI of SRH.
Before the Syed Ali Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Singh had been in impressive form during the 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. Acting as Jharkhand's batting backbone, Singh amassed a total of 335 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 100.60 and a sublime average of 83.75.
However, it has not been all hunky-dory for the 22-year-old and Singh has had to go through his fair share of struggles as well. The youngster was one of the favourites to represent India Under-19s during the 2016 Under-19 World Cup but a slump in form right before the tournament meant that he was excluded from the Indian squad.
Singh has had to build from that disappointment. He also had a stint in England in the Durham County League, where he played for the CM Park Cricket Club. The 22-year-old worked with determination and improved his batting technique over the years.
With a steadfast will, the talented batsman has managed to shine and mature into a fine talent. In Jharkhand's previous last Ranji Trophy game, Virat scored 83 off 115 balls against Odisha. In the match before that against Chhattisgarh, Singh was the only Jharkhand batsman to make an impact with a terrific 140 from 197 deliveries.
The left-hander also has a wealth of experience in T20s now and has played 56 of them, in which he has amassed 1552 runs at an average of 35.27 and a strike rate of 35.27.
Singh's immediate goal will be to work hard ahead of the IPL and do the best he can in the opportunities he gets in the showpie tournament to pique the interest of the national selectors. Like every other aspiring cricketer, the youngster dreams of representing India on the international stage.
Given the kind of temperament Singh possesses in addition to his natural ability, it is safe to say that the sky is the limit for him. IPL 2020 will provides Singh with an opportunity to excel and take his game to the next level.
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