The Punjab batter had a good start to his time with the Mumbai Indians, but he was one of 13 players let go by the team this week.
Satvinder Singh, a former India handball player, had a big party at his Patiala home when his son Anmolpreet and nephew Prabhsimran sold for a lot of money in the 2019 IPL auctions. There was a lot of bhangra dancing and sweets. Prabhsimran got a lot of money (4.8 crores) from Punjab Kings, but Anmolpreet, who got 80 lakhs from Mumbai Indians, was also tipped for bigger things.
Anmolpreet was part of the India U19 World Cup team led by Ishan Kishan in 2016. He was the player of the match when India played Sri Lanka in the semi-final. In his first Ranji season (2017–18), he scored 753 runs for Punjab and played for India A against New Zealand, which was coached by Rahul Dravid. In 2021, when he first played in the IPL, he made a big splash by hitting Josh Hazlewood for two fours and a six in one over.
But the way IPL teams work is so unpredictable that you could easily become too good without getting a fair chance. In the IPL, there are still a lot of teams that want to play in the top order. Anmolpreet’s IPL stats show that he has scored 29 runs in three games over the course of two seasons. After not making the playoffs last year, MI decided to get rid of 13 of their players. The right-handed batter was killed by accident.
Anmolpreet decided to put any bad feelings into a good performance on the field. On Thursday, he hit an unbeaten 101 in 63 balls to help Punjab beat Jammu & Kashmir by 8 wickets at the Wankhede stadium for the Vijay Hazare trophy. At 160 runs per hundred, it was his fastest hundred in any age group.
Anmolpreet says about the IPL loss, “There are so many things going on in the back of my mind.” “But once you’ve played cricket enough, you realize that you have to try to stay in the moment and make the most of the chances that come your way. I have faith in my skills and knowledge I can do it. All I have to do now is show what I have. I just tried to say what was on my mind.”
He was extra nice to Jammu’s medium-pacer Yudhvir Singh, hitting him for two fours and three sixes. It’s not ideal to get T20 merit points during an ODI inning, since the two types of games are moving in different directions. But IPL scouts are watching the tournament closely because the auction is next month. Anmolpreet has heard from the MI camp that he should “keep faith” in his skills.
“I can’t control what happens at the auction,” he says. “Life is full of ups and downs. I think that I must be lacking in some ways because I was let go. I will try to be a better player when I come back next year.” Anmolpreet’s T20 SR (114) shows that he needs to get better, and this might be the push he needs.
If Anmolpreet does get another chance, he will be better ready. “What I’ve learned from the IPL is that people from the outside will have a lot of expectations. You just have to keep the main thing in mind and put the show in the middle.”
The next time, the Satinder family may decide to wait until he lights up the IPL with his batting before they start to celebrate.
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