A blessing in disguise – Swapnil Singh reveals emotional moment of his domestic career

Swapnil Singh has been an absolute revelation ever since his introduction to the mix with crucial roles that has helped RCB to get hold of valuable numbers in their last six wins. Talking in one of the latest videos on RCB Bold Diaries, Swapnil revealed how his cricketing career has shaped up from his childhood with his parents being his first coach.

Swapnil said, “I have played for Baroda, I was born in Lucknow and presently I am playing for Uttarakhand. My first coach was my father. The cricket that I am playing today is because of my father. He had a very big desire to make me play ever since I was a kid. When I was in class six, we shifted to Baroda so that I could play. Everything of ours was in Lucknow.”

He continued, “At the start of my career, my father wanted for me to be a batter. In my opinion, obviously everyone wants to be a batter. When I came to Baroda for the first time in 2002, that is when I started bowling. I made my Ranji Trophy at 14 years and 355 days. Virat and I go a long way back. We’ve played U19 India together.”

Swapnil further added, “We had U15 NCA camp at the Chinnaswamy in 2004. I have done two tours, once in Sri Lanka and the other one in Malaysia. I was even Virat’s room partner in Malaysia. When I met him in the dressing room after such a long time, he was very warm. He was like how my family was and everything. It felt very good.”

He also said, “When I was selected for the first time in the IPL, it was 2008 by the Mumbai Indians. Sachin sir has always been a God for me. When I saw him for the first time and interacted with him, it felt great. When I was playing for Punjab, my debut happened against Mahi bhai’s team. Maxi was our captain. I just took one wicket and that was of Mahi Bhai, caught and bowled.”

Elaborating more, Swapnil said, “I also played the Duleep Trophy in 2016-17 for Baroda and was the highest run-scorer for them while also scalping a lot of wickets. In 2019 in the domestic circuit, all over India, I was possibly the second or the third ranked all-rounder. Then Covid happened and then there were Baroda selections. I was kind of sure that I would be selected. I went to meet our captain at that point in time and he told me directly that you do not have a spot in the team.”

Swapnil continued, “I asked him directly last year, I was India’s top all-rounder, in fact within top two so how is this possible? He revealed that my place was given to another youngster. I accepted it and moved on. That was a blessing in disguise. I didn’t play that season. I was looking for another state and that is when Irfan bhai (Pathan) helped me a lot. It was good that I left Baroda because at times you feel when your own people throw you out, you tend to go elsewhere and stand on your feet and start exploring opportunities. Now I am realizing that Baroda did the right thing to me because had I stayed in Baroda, I would have been finished.”