The shocking thing is that a few years ago he was thinking of leaving the game because things were not going well and he was facing ups and downs in his career. At that time his family stood behind him and supported him in his struggles and motivated him to continue playing.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Shashank shared his journey and his father's role in wanting to see him in the Indian jersey.
“My father is an IPS, my sister is a mechanical engineer, and my mother has a doctorate in history. It was my father's dream to play cricket and represent India.Initially, playing cricket was not even my dream, it was my father's dream. He used to bowl to me and rented grounds for me to practice. A year or two ago, I thought of quitting cricket and I thought of doing some business. But my family supported me a lot and urged me to keep playing.
“My journey has had the basic ups and downs that any professional cricketer has in his life. Didn't get a chance in the first 2 to 3 franchises, then when I got a chance in SRH, the batting there was not good.Getting a chance in the IPL in itself is a big opportunity for any domestic player and when I came to Punjab Kings, the management was very welcoming, your practice matches were good and I performed well, so I got a chance here. When you are in a good field, you enter the match with the same confidence.”
“The domestic season also went very well and I bring the same confidence here. If you talk about the Gujarat Titans match, I would say that I got a chance to bat at No. 6 when there were 8-9 overs left. So, I saw it as an opportunity for me and thought how to grab it with both hands,” said the all-rounder.“At that time winning the match was not in my mind, that was the only thing going on in my mind; How to take the match deeper. Right now, my journey has been full of ups and downs but I always get to learn something.
On 4 April, he scored an unbeaten 61 off just 29 balls against Gujarat Titans and played a vital role in the victory of his team Punjab Kings.
Last year, he became the first Indian List A cricketer to score 150 and take five wickets against Manipur during the 2023–24 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In December 2023, he was bought by the Punjab Kings team for the 2024 IPL for Rs 2 lakh.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Shashank shared his journey and his father's role in wanting to see him in the Indian jersey.
“My father is an IPS, my sister is a mechanical engineer, and my mother has a doctorate in history. It was my father's dream to play cricket and represent India.Initially, playing cricket was not even my dream, it was my father's dream. He used to bowl to me and rented grounds for me to practice. A year or two ago, I thought of quitting cricket and I thought of doing some business. But my family supported me a lot and urged me to keep playing.
“My journey has had the basic ups and downs that any professional cricketer has in his life. Didn't get a chance in the first 2 to 3 franchises, then when I got a chance in SRH, the batting there was not good.Getting a chance in the IPL in itself is a big opportunity for any domestic player and when I came to Punjab Kings, the management was very welcoming, your practice matches were good and I performed well, so I got a chance here. When you are in a good field, you enter the match with the same confidence.”
“The domestic season also went very well and I bring the same confidence here. If you talk about the Gujarat Titans match, I would say that I got a chance to bat at No. 6 when there were 8-9 overs left. So, I saw it as an opportunity for me and thought how to grab it with both hands,” said the all-rounder.“At that time winning the match was not in my mind, that was the only thing going on in my mind; How to take the match deeper. Right now, my journey has been full of ups and downs but I always get to learn something.
On 4 April, he scored an unbeaten 61 off just 29 balls against Gujarat Titans and played a vital role in the victory of his team Punjab Kings.
Last year, he became the first Indian List A cricketer to score 150 and take five wickets against Manipur during the 2023–24 Vijay Hazare Trophy. In December 2023, he was bought by the Punjab Kings team for the 2024 IPL for Rs 2 lakh.