Preity Zinta shared a selfie with Shashank Singh on her official Instagram handle with a long caption appreciating the PBKS star who turned out to become the hero for his team against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. As per reports, Singh was picked by PBKS accidently in the auction for a base price of Rs 20 lakhs.
Sharing the picture, Zinta wrote a long message in caption which read, “Today seems like the perfect day to finally talk about things that were said in the past about us at the auction. A lot of people in similar situations would have lost confidence, buckled under pressure or become de-motivated ……. but not Shashank! He is not like a lot of people. He is truly special. Not just because of his skill as a player but because of his positive attitude & incredible spirit. He took all the comments, jokes and brick bats so sportingly & never became a victim.” (Suryakumar Yadav Injury Update: Star Batter Declared Fit By NCA To Play For Mumbai Indians? Read Here)
“He backed himself and showed us what he is made of, and for that I applaud him. He has my admiration & my respect. I hope he can be an example to all of you when life takes a different turn & does not play accordingly to script, for it’s not what people think of you that matters, but what you think of Yourself! So never stop believing in yourself like Shashank & I’m sure you will be Man of the match in the game of life.”
Reacting to the post, Shashank wrote, “Thank you so much for your kind words ma’am, you have always believed in me from day one and it’s my privilege to play for @punjabkingsipl Franchise which is so welcoming and full of positivity. Thank you.” you for always Supporting and it means so so much to me @realpz (black heart emoji).”
Post game, Shashank Singh heaped praise on skipper Shikhar Dhawan for backing him and helping him improve different aspects of his game. In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, during the PBKS clash against the Gujarat Titans, the 32-year-old defied the odds with his exceptional stroke play, which left the Ahmedabad crowd stunned. GT stood in pole position while defending their herculean total of 200. PBKS were tottering at 111/5 in the 13th over, with 89 runs needed in 46 deliveries.
After registering a golden duck against DC, Shashank put his previous exploits past and went on a rampage from that point, which left GT’s experienced bowling line-up bamboozled. He ended the night with 61* in a mere 29 deliveries.
“Shikkhi (Dhawan) paji has backed me a lot and when I got out for a duck against DC he called me into his room and said don’t worry we will back you. He also gives me technical points to improve my game. He is not like you have to win or lose, he wants a player to take his game to the next level,” Shashank told ANI.
One of the franchise owners, Preity Zinta, was present during the match, offering her support to the players. (IPL 2024: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya’s Bromance In New Video Goes Viral – WATCH)
Shashank recalled the first interaction he had with Preity and the confidence that she showed in him and said, “Preity ma’am always backs the team and she was really happy. When we first met, she told me, I am sure you will win the game for us and I contributed to PBKS’s victory; hopefully more will follow.”
The right-handed batsman was promoted in the batting order as he came out to bat ahead of Jitesh Sharma. Shashank revealed the conversation he had with the management and the instructions that he received before pulling off the incredible chase.
“It was a good opportunity for me. I have always believed that these are the games where you can make a good contribution to your team. So when I was going out to bat, Sanjay sir told me you would go up to bat in the order so stay relaxed. When Sam got out, I didn’t see the scoreboard and that was a good thing. I was like, I would react accordingly to the way the ball is bowled my intent was to go out and score runs,” Shashank said.
“The coach and management have always backed me, they told me to not try anything different they told me to play the way that I have in domestic cricket. GT has a good bowling attack so I played just ball to ball and reacted accordingly,” he added.
Shashank will return to action for PBKS against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Punjab.