Patiala cricketers Anmolpreet and his cousin Prabhsimran bagged huge money during the IPL 2019 auction which took place on Tuesday, could just have become handball players had elders in the joint family they live in had their way. Satvinder Singh, who was a former handball player remembers how he used to get furious every time he saw his son, Anmolpreet and nephew Prabhsimran, playing cricket.
Describing the same with Times of India, Satvinder said, “There were a couple of handball goalposts in our backyard, but they have long been replaced by cricket nets. I never liked cricket as a sport. But destiny has something else in the store. What can I say? We are a very proud family. Ab to teesra (Tejpreet Singh) bhi cricket mein achha kar raha hai (Now the third one too is doing well in cricket).”
While 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Prabhsimran was picked up for ₹4.8 crore by Kings XI Punjab. Anmolpreet, 20, was grabbed by Mumbai Indians for ₹80 lakh. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) first started a bidding war for Prabhsimran before Kings XI Punjab bought him.
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Talking about the same, the youngster said, “We all were glued to the television set in our drawing room. I was confident that bhaiya (Anmolpreet) will get a contract. But in my wildest dreams, I had never imagined that I would get into any of the franchises with such a hefty price tag. I didn’t even know that my name was in the final shortlist of 351 players. I went for the KXIP trials held in Mohali and scored two half-centuries, but I never thought I would get such a big contract.”
The Singh family had a crazy evening in Patiala as IPL auctions started. As Prabhsimran’s father Surjit Singh said that when Anmol was picked by MI, they started celebrating with mithai (sweets), but once Prabhsimran’s bidding started, they just collectively went mad. He revealed that the entire family was doing the bhangra and the celebrations went on till midnight.
Anmolpreet, who is known for his exploits in the India U-19 and Punjab teams, reckons his cousin is a wonder kid.
The youngster explained, “It is an absolute delight to watch Prabhsimran from the other end. He is an exceptional talent. In our school days, we gave such nightmares to the other teams. We were playing an inter-school tournament in Patiala and in one match one of our opposition didn’t take the field. Their coach said they didn’t want to get embarrassed as the opposition bowlers were terrified.”
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Though more established as a player than Prabhsimran, Anmolpreet is not bothered that his cousin got a bigger contract than him. He said that the money is coming in the same home and that’s what matters.
With the boys now playing for two different franchises, the Singh family will have their loyalties divided, or will they? Talking about the same, Surjit said, “It is going to be difficult. It will be a mixed feeling. To be honest, I don’t know what to say. There will be a divide in the family. I am actually excited for the tie between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians.”
