Left-handed batter Pratham Singh boasts of a solid academic background having completed his engineering and cracked India's top business school, ISB, but all he is really passionate about is cricket. The 29-year-old from Delhi has been a consistent performer for Railways in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and even though he was picked up by now-defunct IPL franchise Gujarat Lions in 2017, he didn't get any game time.

A five-year-long wait followed, which finally ended when he was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at the last mega auction. Singh is now eager to prove his mettle at the Indian Premier League, a stage where many dreams have been realised over the years.

"It is a very good opportunity for any domestic cricketer and I have been doing well for Railways. In IPL, even one innings can change your life. If you can do well, you have an opportunity to play for the country," Singh told PTI.

"I have been with the team for the past two weeks and I am learning a lot from Brendon McCullum and Abhishek Nayar sir. I am looking forward to growing as a cricketer and making an impact."

In his maiden appearance at the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Singh had amassed 438 runs in 10 matches at an average of 54.75 and strike-rate of 136.02 to help Railways top the group in the league stage.

In the 2020-21 season, he smashed 299 runs at an average of 74.75 with the help of a hundred and two fifties.

"I was the second-highest scorer in Syed Mushtaq Ali in my debut season and we qualified. We had defeated Mumbai and I have been the top scorer in white-ball for Railways in last 3 years, so I was expecting a call every year," said Singh, who had smashed four successive fifties in the 2019 edition.

"The struggle was there for last five years as I was not getting picked up. But better late then never. I am grateful and happy that I was picked up by KKR and I am looking forward to making the most of the opportunities that come my way."

This year, Singh missed two matches at the Ranji Trophy after testing positive for COVID-19, but he returned to score a 75 in the first innings in Railways' nine-wicket win over Jammu and Kashmir. "We missed out on the qualification this year in Ranji Trophy just by one point. I was down with COVID just a day before my first Ranji game. There were only three games, so it was frustrating to miss out on two games due to COVID. I scored 75 in the last game," he said.

"We have a lot of youngsters. The team is at a building stage. Batting is our strength. We are looking forward to a great campaign next year. We will be there competing against the giants next year." With sports coming to a standstill due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, it has been a difficult time for the domestic cricketers, and Singh was no exception. But he decided to utilise the time in pursuing his education. "I have done my engineering in electronics and communication and also got admission in Indian School of Business in Hyderabad but I am planning to pursue it once I am done with cricket.

"During first lockdown when everything was shut, we had nothing to do. So I had prepared for it then. Lot of things was going on in my mind. I was 27 and there was no cricket going on and I was not in any IPL team.

"But it was a blessing in disguise. So I thought of pursuing my education as there was no clarity and then I cracked ISB, Hyderabad. But when cricket resumed, I wanted to play cricket as much as possible as it is my passion," he signed off.

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