Pankaj Singh (born 6 May 1985) is an Indian former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. In December 2018, he became the first

seam bowler Seam bowling is a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation when the ball bounces. Practitioners are known as ''seam bowlers'' or seamers. Seam bowling is generally classed ...

to take 400 wickets in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

. He retired from all forms of cricket in July 2021.

Domestic and IPL Career

He plays for the

Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Ma ...

in the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

(IPL). A tall and strapping right-arm medium-fast bowler from Rajasthan, has progressed from the Under-19 level to the

India A The India A cricket team is a national cricket team representing India. It is the second-tier of Indian international cricket, below the full India national cricket team. The team is currently captained by Priyank Panchal in first-class cricket a ...

side with consistent performances since he made his first-class debut in August 2003. By 2006 he started showing signs of having matured, taking

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

to the final of the Ranji Plate league, with 21 wickets at 20.95. In 2007, he was part of India A's twin tour of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and a total of 18 wickets in the unofficial

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and ODIs in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

earned him a spot for the home series against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

A. With Sreesanth and

Munaf Patel Munaf Patel (born 12 July 1983) is a former Indian cricketer who played all formats of the game. He has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team in domestic arena. In Novem ...

injured, he earned a call-up to India's Test squad to tour

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He signed with the

in the inaugural

IPL The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

before transferring to

Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor b ...

for the second season. His next big break came when he was included in the limited-overs sides for India's tour of

, when the selectors decided to rest several senior players. He was the joint-leading wicket-taker for Rajasthan in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, with 13 dismissals in five matches. Ahead of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy, he transferred from Rajasthan to

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

. In November 2018, during the Ranji Trophy match against

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

, he set a new record for the most five-wicket hauls against different teams in the Ranji Trophy with 17. Overall, it was his 27th five-wicket haul. He was the leading wicket-taker for Puducherry in the tournament, with 45 dismissals in eight matches.

International career

He was selected to the Indian

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series of 2007–08 in

, but was not selected to play. After a recent good show in domestic tournaments, he was included in the Indian squad touring England in July 2014. He made his test debut vs England at the Ageas Bowl in the 3rd Test of the series after

Ishant Sharma Ishant Sharma (; born 2 September 1988) is an Indian cricketer who has represented India in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He is a 6 ft 4 in tall right-arm fast-medium bowler. At the age of 18, Sharma was called to join the Indian s ...

was ruled out with Injury. He was handed his debut test cap by

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...

. Pankaj Singh could have had

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...

as his first Test wicket had

Ravindra Jadeja Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja (born 6 December 1988), commonly known as Ravindra Jadeja, is an Indian international cricketer. He is an all-rounder, who bats left-handed and bowls left-arm orthodox spin. He was the captain of the Chennai Su ...

not dropped the catch off Singh's bowling. On his debut Pankaj achieved a unique record of being the most expensive bowler in test debut without a single wicket. He conceded 179 runs during the match against England in July 2014. His maiden wicket came in his second match and with his 416th ball when he dismissed

Joe Root Joseph Edward Root, (born 30 December 1990) is an English international cricketer, who plays for the England Test and One Day International (ODI) teams, and formerly captained the Test team. He also represents Yorkshire in English domestic ...

on 77. He also dismissed wicketkeeper-batsman

Jos Buttler Joseph Charles Buttler (born 8 September 1990) is an English cricketer who captains the England cricket team in limited overs cricket, and plays for the England Test team. In domestic cricket he represents Lancashire, having previously played ...

a few overs later.

References

External links

Pankaj Singh
s profile page on Wisden * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Pankaj 1985 births Living people People from Mirzapur Indian cricketers India Test cricketers India One Day International cricketers Cricketers from Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan cricketers Rajasthan Royals cricketers Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers Central Zone cricketers India Red cricketers India Green cricketers India Blue cricketers Pondicherry cricketers