New Delhi: Prabhsimran Singh was working out in the gym when the call he had been waiting for finally came. After being consistent with Kings XI Punjab, the opener earned him his first call-up to the Indian national team for the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe later this month.But before he could celebrate with anyone else, Prabhusimran rushed home. Waiting there was his father, Sardar Surjit Singh, who was battling serious health problems and underwent regular dialysis. Despite his poor health, he rarely missed watching his son play. Emotions ran high when Prabhu Simran announced his final selection in the Indian team.“Kaafi time ke baad aaya hai paaji. Hum sab wait kar rahe the. Waheguru da shukar hai [It has come after a long wait, paaji. We had all been waiting for it. Thank God]”, Prabhu Simran told TOI in an exclusive interview.“Papa ki tabiyat aisi hai ki woh khud se uth nahi paate [My father’s health is such that he can’t even get up on his own]. But when we told him the news, he stood up on his own.“If this happiness improves his health by even one percent, it means the world to me. Woh bas yahi bol rahe the, ‘Ab ja raha hai to neeche nahi aana’.” Aur bas ek hi baat kahi – ‘Aur mehnat karo [He just kept saying, ‘Now that you’re going, don’t come back down.’ And he told me only one thing: ‘Work even harder],'” he said.
He struggled to get consistent chances in his early IPL career, but he made a breakthrough in 2023 when he scored 358 runs, including his first IPL century. In 2024, he ran in 334 more games, and then in 2025 and 2026, he made another leap by playing in more than 500 games. More importantly, he started converting his starts into respectable runs, improving from 50 in 2023 to 4 and 50 in 2025, and 6 and 50 in the 2026 IPL.“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time because I didn’t get enough opportunities to play before. Once I started getting the proper opportunities, I tried to do my best and things went really well. I’ve had two good seasons in a row.” So somewhere down the line I do hope to get a chance to be on one of those tours. But I didn’t think too much about it because my mentality was always the same – whether it was regional club games or IPL games, I just wanted to perform well. IPL is such a big stage. If you do well out there, everything gets noticed. I’m so grateful that I have this opportunity. I just pray that everything goes well there as well,” said Prabhu Simran.
Hard work never lies
Prabhu Simran, who played 500-plus IPL seasons with India A in Sri Lanka, scoring 97 runs in three games, including a half-century, further proves his point.He has now been selected as India’s second wicketkeeper-batsman after Ishan Kishan, with Sanju Samson being surprisingly left out.One of the biggest improvements in Prabhu Simran’s game has been his consistency. His aggressive approach at the top hasn’t changed, but over the past few seasons he’s learned to stay at the crease longer and turn starts into game-winning knocks. From 20-plus and 30-plus points in his early years, he now regularly increases his scoring to over 50 points while maintaining a shooting percentage of over 160 points. When he received the India A jersey, he posted a perfect journey on Instagram that read: “The grind never lies.”
The aggressive opener, who earlier often gave away promising starts, has now learned to convert them into match-winning knocks. He scored 6 fifties in IPL 2026, averaging 42.50 with a strike rate of 168.87 while also hitting 23 sixes.Prabhusimran said the switch came after realizing that surviving at the highest level requires more than just an explosive start.“As you know, this is a big platform. Earlier, I used to feel that getting 25 or 30 points before quitting would be a good start. But in the last two years, I have only one thing in my mind – if I want to maintain my level, I need to add something to my game. My focus is on converting 25 and 30 into larger fractions. Sometimes 25 or 30 points are important, but if the team loses, those points don’t mean much. My only goal is that no matter how many points I score, I should contribute to the team’s victory. Once I’m ready, I think about finishing the game,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said.
The ultimate dream: “India ke liye khelna hai”
Prabhu Simran’s journey into the Indian team was different from that of many of his teammates of the same age. While players like Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh broke into the national team earlier, the Kings XI Punjab opener had to wait a little longer to get his chance.While his cousin Anmolpreet Singh represented India in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, Prabhsimran missed out on the chance to play in the tournament. Two years later, however, he captained India to the Under-19 Asia Cup title and led a team of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkar and Ayush Badoni to a 144-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final.“We’ve been playing together since our age-group cricket days. I’m really happy for them. We grow together. Whenever I see them succeed, I always feel like it’s my turn too. Whenever they do well, we talk. Sometimes I also talk to their parents. We don’t really talk about cricket that much. Our conversations were mostly about what we were doing and having fun,” said Prabhu Simran.“Ashdeep and I live in Punjab [PBKS]. Sometimes Abhishek also joins us during the domestic season. I have a great connection with both of them. We even have a six-hit game during practice. You learn a lot from each other. “
For Prabhu Simran, everything he does ultimately boils down to one goal – to represent India.“I always had one thing in my mind – to play for India. When I got the opportunity, it was in the Asia Cup. I was made captain and we won the tournament. Things were gradually falling into place.” If you get the chance, thank God. If not, keep waiting for the opportunity and keep working hard. I’ve always been a calm person. My only dream is to represent India. Now I’m on the team. If I make my debut, it will be a big moment. If I perform well, I will get more opportunities. ” he said.
Fitness and maintenance change everything
Prabhu Simran has improved over the past few seasons beyond just scoring more goals. Apart from becoming a more consistent batsman, he has also taken on the more demanding role of wicketkeeper across formats.The 25-year-old is now a regular keeper for Kings XI Punjab and believes the extra responsibility will naturally push him to improve his fitness levels. Keeping wickets throughout the IPL season, and then domestic cricket across formats, requires greater stamina and consistency, which he feels played an equally important role in his development.“Fitness is very important if you want to stay consistent. I will also keep wickets. I have kept wickets throughout the IPL season and in domestic cricket. So fitness is something you have to work on. The key is to be consistent in whatever you do, whether it’s practice or training,” said Prabhu Simran.“It’s because of wicketkeeping. In domestic cricket, you play one-day, T20 and red-ball cricket. It’s a very long season. If you keep wicket regularly, the responsibility becomes bigger. So I’m focusing more on my fitness, batting and wicketkeeping. It’s not really about losing weight. I was fine before that,” he said.
this Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting Influence
Prabhu Simran credits Kings XI Punjab captain Shriyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting with playing a major role in his transformation by giving him complete freedom and supporting him to develop his natural game.He has been with Punjab since 2019 and feels his biggest growth came after Iyer took over as captain and Ponting took over as head coach ahead of the 2025 season. The timing also coincides with the most productive phase of his IPL career.
The support from the team management didn’t change his approach to attack, but helped him trust him longer and turn promising starts into substantive innings.“Shreyas spoke to me when he became the captain of Kings XI Punjab. He told me only one thing: ‘I am giving you complete freedom. Don’t think that if you go out and play there will be problems.’ When the captain gives you that freedom, you can really back up your game. He also told me that I had been with the team for a while and should consider myself a senior player. He said: ‘I fully support you. Just support your own game,” said Prabhu Simran.Prabhu Simran also recalled the call he received from Ponting after he was hired by Kings XI Punjab.“When Shashank and I were retained, Ponting sir called us. What impressed me most was that he said, ‘You are a good player, but I can make you a better player.'” It’s been two years now and my consistency has improved. He played a huge role in this. He also told me that if I went out and hit a certain shot, it wouldn’t be a problem. Next time, hit the ball again with the same confidence. If you quit because of a bad shot, work on it and turn it into a productive option,” he said.
Learn from Yuvraj Singh
Prabhu Simran also credited former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for playing an important role in his development on and off the field.For him, whenever he needs advice, be it cricket or life advice, Yuvraj is there to help him out. With the improvement and consistency over the past two IPL seasons, Prabhusimran continues to look to the former India star for guidance.“Pudge has obviously played a huge role. It’s important to have people who can guide you. Whenever any of us – whether it’s me, Abhishek or any other player – has some free time, we can always call Pudge. If we needed practice, he arranged it himself. His role is huge. He also explains how to take your game further,” he said.Yuvraj was one of the first people informed by Prabhu Simran after receiving his first India call-up.“He was very happy. He said the moment we have been waiting for so long has finally arrived. The only thing left now is to work harder. I told him, ‘Paaji is busy now. I will work with him when he is free.'” Prabhsimran said.
