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

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. In December 2018, he became the first seam bowler to take 400 wickets in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

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

Domestic and IPL Career

He played for the Rajasthan Royals in the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

(IPL). A tall and strapping right-arm medium-fast bowler from Rajasthan, has progressed from the Under-19 level to the India 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 (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

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 file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

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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

earned him a spot for the home series against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

A. With Sreesanth and Munaf Patel injured, he earned a call-up to India's Test squad to tour

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He signed with the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL before transferring to Royal Challengers Bangalore 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. In November 2018, during the Ranji Trophy match against

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

, 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 Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

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 was ruled out due to an injury. He was handed his debut test cap by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pankaj Singh could have had Alastair Cook as his first Test wicket had Ravindra Jadeja 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 cricket team, English cricket team and formerly captained the Test team. He also represents Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Yorkshire ...

on 77. He also dismissed wicketkeeper-batsman

Jos Buttler Joseph Charles Buttler (born 8 September 1990), known as Jos Buttler, is an English international cricket, cricketer and former captain of the England cricket team, national team. He plays for Lancashire County Cricket Club, Lancashire in dom ...

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 21st-century Indian sportsmen Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers Central Zone cricketers India Red cricketers India Green cricketers India Blue cricketers Pondicherry cricketers