The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have qualified for the playoffs of the 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, after their victory against Chennai Super Kings. Their left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh has been a lucky charm for the franchise, as he is yet to face defeat in all the six games he has played for the team in this IPL 2024.
In the discussion of the Bengaluru teams, time is mostly spent on the contributions of Willi Jacks or Cameron Green. Virat Kohli has been in red-hot form in this competition while Rajat Patidar has showed his skill of nailing the spinners with ease. Even Mohammad Siraj too has made a comeback in the back end of the tournament.
But Swapnil Singh’s contribution too can’t be look over, given how awesome he has been as a spinner, bowling in the powerplay with the bat, picking up six wickets in six games, with the best figures of 2/28.
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The emotional journey of Swapnil Singh into the IPL
Even he was first picked for the Mumbai Indians during the auction of the inaugural season in 2008, it took Swapnil Singh almost 16 years, before making his debut in this tournament. During the IPL 2023, the spinner made his debut for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) under the coaching of Andy Flower, who changed his base to RCB in this ongoing season.
While specking on the official social media handle of the RCB team, the 33-year-old spoke about his ‘emotional journey’ in the game, since making his debut at an young age of only 14 for Baroda. He was also the roommate of now team-mate Virat Kohli during the early days of his career.
In the entire tournament in 2008, he was benched for the Mumbai Indians, and when was picked by the Punjab team in 2016, he failed to make an impression. He ended up as a net bowler for LSG, before making his case for the section in the first 11 of the team.
‘Not many know how much of an emotional journey it was…’ – Swapnil Singh
Even though he only made two appearances in that season, Swapnil Singh was confident enough of getting a team during the IPL 2024 auction, but after going unsold initially, he gave up hoping. At the end, he was finally picked the Bengaluru team for a base price of INR 20 lakh in the accelerated round of the auction.
‘The day of the auction, I was travelling to Dehradun for a Ranji game, and we landed somewhere around 7-8 PM. The last round of IPL auction was going on, and nothing had happened till that time. I frankly thought to myself, it’s done. Thank you,’ Swapnil Singh said in a video.
‘I will play the ongoing season (Ranji), and if needed the next one and call it quits because I do not want to play all my life, ‘Duniya jeetene ke liya aur bhi cheeze hain’, (There are a lot of things I can do to be successful). I was very disappointed. But when the moment my family called, we broke down. Not many know how much of an emotional journey it was… That was it,’ Swapnil Singh expressed in the same video.
Before his arrival, RCB were struggling in the spin department. But Swapnil Singh, coming as the ‘Impact Player’ made a huge difference. Playing his first game of the IPL 2024, he dismissed Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klassen- both of whom play spin pretty well. Even against the CSK side, he conceded only 13 runs in two overs.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Swapnil Singh will be in action against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) during the ‘Eliminator’ on May 21, 2024, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.