Who is Pratham Singh, the opener who has scored a century for India A?

On September 10 (Tuesday), the BCCI announced replacements for the Indian international players in the Duleep Trophy 2024 and among the new names was Pratham Singh, who replaced Shubman Gill in the India A squad. 

Gill’s departure was considered a massive loss for India A, but on September 14 (Saturday), Day 3 of the clash between India A and India D, Pratham smashed a century to put India A in the driver’s seat in the contest. 

So who exactly is Pratham Singh?

A 32-year-old opening batter who made his first-class debut back in 2017, Pratham Singh is a journeyman who has been toiling hard in the domestic circuit. The left-hander represents Railways in domestic cricket and, before this Duleep Trophy, had made all 29 FC appearances for them.

In February this year, in a Ranji Trophy clash against Tripura in Agartala, Pratham scored his maiden FC ton, smashing a sublime 169* off 300 balls. It was a fine knock from the left-hander, who helped Railways chase 378 in the fourth innings. 

Pratham started his FC career off with a 73 on debut against Maharashtra (back in 2017), but then had a rough few years, averaging in the 30s till 2022. 

But the left-hander then had a breakthrough 2023 of sorts, where he amassed 249 runs at an average of 49.8.  That year, he scored 96 against Gujarat and a counter-attacking 94-ball 92 against Tamil Nadu in Coimbatore. 

He then followed that up with an excellent 2023/24 Ranji campaign, where he amassed 530 runs for Railways at an average of 48.18. Pratham ended the 2023/24 Ranji season as Railways’ highest run-getter.

Former Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Lions player

Pratham has announced himself to the world with his ton in the Duleep Trophy. However, the 32-year-old is someone who has already gotten a taste of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In 2017, he was bought by Gujarat Lions for 10 lakh. Then, in the 2022 auction, he got purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for his base price of 20 lakh. However, the left-hander did not play a single IPL game for either franchise.

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.