Impactful Prabhsimran ends season on high

Six years back, Punjab Kings, then known as Kings XI Punjab, decided to invest in an 18-year old Prabhsimran Singh, spending as much as INR 4.8 Crore on him. With the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle in the side, Prabhsimran invariably had limited opportunities. He played his first match for Kings in 2019, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and had to wait 18 more months for his next IPL game. But Kings didn't let go of him, continuing to keep him in the fold but not for the initial sum that they got him in for.

From 2019 till the end of the 2022 season, Prabhsimran got to play only six matches in which he scored 64 runs at an average of 10.66. Kings, though, persisted with him in 2023. He got a good run of games last season, getting to play all 14 and there were some impressive knocks too, including 103 against Delhi Capitals and 60 against Rajasthan Royals. With Shikhar Dhawan having been reduced to the sidelines for the majority of the 2024 season due to a shoulder injury, Prabhsimran had to shoulder the responsibility alongside Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order.

But the returns from Prabhsimran were minimal. Before the game against Sunrisers on May 19, the Punjab batter had managed only 45 runs in five innings, averaging 9 with a strike rate of 104.65 and a highest of 16. Prabhsimran's poor run meant that the Kings were reduced to the bottom of the chart in terms of runs contributed by the opening batters in the season.

Before the SRH game, PBKS's openers had managed only 635 runs and three fifty-plus scores, the least for any team. The Kings also had a problem with the No.3 this season. Prabhsimran and Rilee Rossouw were both used in this position but apart from Rossouw's 61 and 43 against RCB and CSK respectively, the contributions were limited. Collectively, PBKS's top three had managed only 916 runs, the least among all teams in this IPL.

PBKS' top three in this IPL before the match against SRH

Prabhsimran opening and No.3 this season before the SRH game

But Jitesh Sharma, the captain for PBKS' final league game, wasn't keen to look too much into those numbers. "I do not believe in numbers. I believe in good intent. The openers have shown good intent in each game. It's fine that the top order could not score more runs. But whenever they came to bat, they came to bat for the team, and not for themselves. You can see clearly that they've tried to give us a good start. That is more important," said Jitesh.

That belief translated into impactful contributions from the top three against SRH. Prabhsimran led the charge with a 45-ball 71, Atharva Taide struck a 27-ball 46 while Rossouw hit a breezy 49 off 24 as the top three led the platform for PBKS's total of 214/5, their highest against SRH, bettering the 211/4 they scored in a successful chase in Hyderabad 10 years back.

Abhishek Sharma had a superb season at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and his Punjab team-mate Prabhsimran's numbers did pale a bit in comparison. He scored 255 runs in 10 innings, with two half-centuries, while his opening partner Abhishek went on to amass 485 runs, including two hundreds and three fifties. The contrasting form of both batters carried into the IPL as well, with Abhishek having a breakthrough season while Prabhsimran had an average one.

But, like Jitesh, the Punjab state team captain Mandeep Singh comes to the defence of Prabhsimran, stressing that the lack of consistency isn't a big factor as long as he is making an impact. "I feel that a player like Prabhsimran who plays at a strike rate of 150 or above, players like these usually have an issue with consistency," Mandeep says in a chat with Cricbuzz.

"You can also say people now just don't see who plays a long innings but also who has played an impactful knock. It may happen sometimes that you play a short innings but an effective innings. Usually with players who play so aggressively, this (consistency) is always an issue. The range of shots that they possess, there might sometimes be problems with their shot-selection or the tone of their innings."

The 2023-24 season may not have gone his way, but Prabhsimran does have the numbers in domestic cricket to prove that he is a player worth investing in. He has a good average in first-class cricket, with five hundreds, while he also has two centuries to his name in List A cricket, along with two 100-plus scores and 13 fifties in T20s. All these before he has even turned 24.

"He's still very young. And if you still see his first-class record, he averages close to 50, he has a good average in T20 and List A cricket as well. I think he's on a good path and obviously he's going to get better. There is a bit of an issue with consistency but at the same time his game is such that...he's a very aggressive player. In between he'll play such an innings that it'll leave you awestruck. If he plays a long innings then you can expect the game to be one-sided. If he stays at the crease, I don't think the opponents will stand a chance. He's on a great path and I'm sure he'll only get better," Mandeep says.

Sanjay Bangar, PBKS's director of cricket, also emphasised on the importance of the strike rate above the amount of time spent at the crease or the runs scored. "He has been given a specific role - that is to be positive upfront - and that is the way you want to capitalise the powerplays. If you look at his strike rate throughout, it was above 150 and that is what you look for.

"Even if you look at SRH and Abhishek [Sharma], the way he bats, the onus is on run-scoring rather than getting to a score of 60-70. I think that is yesterday's approach. You have to embrace that when you take those risks, some days those risks are going to come and some days they don't."

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His knock in the penultimate league game might have been overshadowed by Abhishek's 28-ball 66 but there are plenty of positives for Prabhsimran from his final innings of IPL 2024. And in a season where PBKS finished second from bottom and failed to make the playoffs for the 10th successive time, they can take some comfort from the fight they put up despite the absence of their star players, with the top three finally making it count.