The veteran has been in superb form in SMAT 2024
Harpreet Singh was one of the break-out stars for India in the 2010 Under 19 World Cup. Even though India’s couldn’t clinch the title that year despite their pedigree, they had found some of their future stars in KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh and Mayank Agarwal to name a few and Madhya Pradesh prodigy Harpreet Singh was among them.
Soon after the Under 19 World Cup he was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010 and played one match. Being tagged as a red-ball specialist, Harpreet’s chances in the IPL became sporadic and few. He played three games for now-defunct Pune Warriors India in 2011 and 2012 before going unsold in the auction for close to a decade.
In 2017, Harpreet was the victim of mistaken identity as many news outlets named him instead of Harmeet Singh, a spinner and his former India Under 19 team mate, as being arrested by police for a driving violation. That ruined his chances of being picked up in the auction and by the time he cleared his name due to a news agency’s mistake, the auction was over and he went unsold.
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Even though he was innocent and had nothing to do with the entire saga, he had to wait until the middle of the season to be called up as Sarfaraz Khan’s replacement by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but didn’t get a game.
It took him a total of 10 years, 332 days to play another game in the IPL after he was picked up by Punjab Kings in the 2023 auction. It is still the longest gap between two matches for any player in the tournament’s history.
He played three matches and the two more games in the 2024 season before being released by the franchise before the IPL 2025 auction. Despite not putting his name in the auction for the season, Harpreet has been consistently performing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), averaging around 35 and batting at a strike rate of 123. He played a big role in MP reaching the final in the 2024 SMAT with 297 runs from nine innings at a strike rate of 39.
The 33-year-old continued his excellent form in the Madhya Pradesh T20 League for Chambal Ghariyals starting the tournament with an unbeaten 68 off 39 balls which set up an 18-run win for them against Gwalior Cheetahs.
On Sunday against Indore Pink Panthers, Harpreet was once again in his element with a 39-ball 57 which included seven boundaries and one six. Chambal scored 207/6 in 20 overs thanks to Harpreet and Aman Bhadoriya’s 35 off 12 balls.
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