Indian fast bowler reacts to being hailed as 'greatest domestic bowler' by Yuvraj Singh: 'Agar unhone kaha hai...'

Over the years, Indian cricket has seen a mix of players achieving different levels of success. Some, like the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, have played over 100 Tests, with Tendulkar even reaching the milestone of 200 Tests. Others, like Zaheer Khan and MS Dhoni, fell just short of the century mark before retiring from the game. On the other hand, there are players who had brief stints in the Indian team before fading into obscurity. Players like Karun Nair, who scored a triple-century in just his third Test match, only played a handful of Tests before falling out of favor. Similarly, players like Yograj Singh and Iqbal Siddiqui never got the chance to represent India again after their debut. Indian cricket history is dotted with players who have had varying degrees of success, making it a dynamic and unpredictable journey for both the players and the fans.

In 2014, something similar happened to Pankaj Singh. The Rajasthan workhorse was rewarded with a place in the Indian Test squad, the six-year-wait culminating into a debut against England in Southampton. As luck would have it, he played one more Test only never to be seen again in India colours. Pankaj had broken into the MS Dhoni-led squad on the back of a strong show for Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy – he took 39 wickets in the 2013-14 season – and played his first Test right after India's historic win at Lord's. Having said that, as fate would have it, all Pankaj could add to it was the next Test at Manchester.

Pankaj, the first Indian pacer to take 400 First-Class wickets, had created ripples in the Indian domestic circuit, so much so that back in the day he was dubbed by Yuvraj Singh as 'India's greatest domestic bowler'. It was such a big compliment that even today, more than a decade later, with Pankaj and Yuvraj both retired, the tall fast bowler holds it close to his heart.

"He is such a big player, Yuvraj Singh. He has known cricket really up close and well. He is even managing and helping so many youngster at this stage. So obviously agar unhone kaha hai, then kuch cheezein hongi (If he’s said it, it probably means something)," he said in an interaction with India News on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket.

Pankaj's first wicket was of someone many would dream of taking even today – former England captain Joe Root. After going wicketless for 179 runs at the Ageas Bowl, Pankaj finally got on the wicket column, dismissing Root and then Jos Buttler en route to producing figures of 2/113. Pankaj's Test career could have turned out to be a lot different had Ravindra Jadeja held on to a catch of Alastair Cook – he went on to score and India eventually lost by 266 runs – but with India's series defeat, Pankaj's Test career plummeted. He got dropped subsequently and never played again.

Pankaj had earned his maiden India Test call-up during India's 2007 tour of Australia, with injuries to Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth opening the doors for him. But it took him seven years to get his India Test cap. In 2010, he played his lone ODI for India, conceding 0/45. Three years ago, in 2021, Pankaj Singh announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.