RCB’s Swapnil Singh, a late bloomer in IPL, nearly left to play in Bangladesh League

Swapnil made his IPL debut for Punjab Kings in 2016 and then played two games for Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) last year. He was first a net bowler for LSG.

It was during practice sessions for LSG two years ago that the former Baroda all-rounder caught the attention of coach Andy Flower.

When the Zimbabwean moved to RCB at the start of this season, Swapnil got another chance to find his feet in the IPL. Nearly two decades after making his first-class debut at the age of 14, Swapnil’s career has got a second wind. A roommate of Virat Kohli during their days as India Under-19 cricketers, Swapnil is now a trusted teammate of the former India captain in the RCB set-up.

“It feels great to see that my brother is getting his due. It took so long for him. He has proved that hard work pays off,” Swapnil’s younger brother Jyotsnil said.

Cameron Green of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Swapnil Singh of Royal Challengers Bangalore celebrates the wicket of Pat Cummins (c) of Sunrisers Hyderabad during match 41 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on the 25th April 2024. (Sportzpics)

The brothers moved from Lucknow to Baroda when Jyotsnil was three and Swapnil 11. Their father took the decision believing they had a brighter cricketing future outside their home state, known for not always rewarding merit.

After playing for over a decade for Baroda, Swapnil moved to Uttarakhand. Baroda were looking for fresh legs and his career seemed to have plateaued in 2021.

Mentor Irfan

On the IPL front, he wasn’t a regular. This was when he mulled over moving to Bangladesh.

Sound advice from former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, his mentor, made him stay back.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗽𝗻𝗶𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 is special for a number of reasons! Keep those tissues handy. If you’re not his fan already, you’ll end up becoming one.🥹❤

Watch Swapnil’s emotional and inspiring journey on @bigbasket_com presents RCB Bold Diaries!#PlayBold pic.twitter.com/8wlNNjsfxo

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 20, 2024

The call up to be a net bowler for LSG came from his Baroda teammate and close friend Deepak Hooda. The first time he cut the call because he was disappointed at receiving a net-bowler offer from an IPL team. But Hooda called again and insisted that it was a good move. However, the confirmation from LSG took time.

“He was not sure and was in two minds. He had one offer to play league cricket in Bangladesh. He felt he would have gained from the experience instead of being a net bowler in the IPL,” Pathan told this paper.

Swapnil told RCB Bold Diaries that when a week passed with no update from LSG, he called Pathan again. Pathan in turn called his former India teammate Gautam Gambir, the then LSG mentor.

“I called Gautam and said, tu dekh le ek baar is ladke ko? (take a look at this boy) Gautam said, ok, tu bol raha hai toh theek hai (ok I will, since you are asking me to). He was picked and there he met Andy Flower, who liked his approach,” Pathan said.

After Flower moved to RCB, Swapnil was asked to appear for trials.

“Before RCB picked me in the auction, they had organised a trial-cum-camp. I spoke to Andy sir and told him all about how my (domestic) season had gone. I told him, ‘Just give me one chance. This might be my last chance. Just have faith in me,’” Swapnil told RCB Bold Diaries.

However, Swapnil thought he had hit a hurdle when RCB didn’t pick him in the first round of the auctions. “I thought I would play out the ongoing domestic season and if needed, I would end my career after playing the next season because I did not want to keep playing all my life,” he said. But RCB eventually bought him and his fortunes changed.

“Jab paseena zameen par girta hai, zameen usse zaroor waapis karti hai (when you work hard and sweat it out you are rewarded for it) and Swapnil is the perfect example for others. It’s an inspirational story, everyone talks about big cricketers but the stories of players like Swapnil can inspire many,” Pathan added.

If Swapnil can continue to contribute in RCB’s dream run when they play Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator on Wednesday, his fairytale season will encourage journeyman cricketers to never give up.