Mandeep Singh draws inspiration from Suryakumar Yadav as he dreams of IPL and India comeback
Published - 11 Aug 2024, 01:55 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:17 AM
Mandeep Singh who is all set to play for Tripura in the 2024-25 domestic season has set his goals on what he wants to achieve from this domestic season.
Mandeep now 32, has decided to move on from Punjab and join Tripura - his new domestic stateside. The call was surprising as he helped Punjab end their 30-year-old wait to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali title last season.
However, understanding where he was within his game he decided to move on from Punjab where the management is looking to breed in young players with no place for an anchor like him. Earlier this year, when Punjab toured Namibia for five 50-over games, he was left out of the squad. This was what made Mandeep think about moving forward in a biog to rejig his cricket career.
Mandeep's goals are very clear from what he said recently. He wants to make a comeback in the IPL and also be in the reckoning for a possible comeback to the Indian team across formats.
Mandeep is stepping out from Punjab after his leanest patch in domestic cricket where he scored 216 runs at an average of 27.00 in the 2023-24 season. This was nowhere close to the best season he had in 2019 where he scored 696 runs at an average of 69.60.
With an eye to making a comeback across formats for India, he is working especially hard on his T20 game. He is an anchor generally with the bat but to meet the modern demands in T20 cricket, he is working on his power game as well.
"Earlier, I used to focus mostly on red-ball cricket during the off-season. This time I practised a lot with the white ball. Being a top-order batter, I normally take my time early on. But things have changed. The demand is for fast cricket. So I worked on my power-hitting, so that if I am required to go big right from the start, I could do that," Mandeep told ESPNCricinfo.
Mandeep Singh Eyes Making IPL, India Comeback
He then spoke about his ultimate dream for which he is beginning a new season with Tripura. He shared his vision and goals that he wants to achieve with a good domestic stint in the 2024-25 season.
"I have a few goals. One is, of course, to play all three formats, and then, hopefully, make a comeback in the IPL. Obviously, if you get back into the IPL and do well, you start getting into the mix [for the Indian team]," Mandeep added added.
"If I am not wrong, Suryakumar Yadav played for India at the age of 30. Shashank Singh is 32-33 [32]. He had his first taste of success in the IPL last year. So the inspirations are right in front of me."
He is currently idolizing Suryakumar Yadav, who was recently announced as India's T20I skipper. He started international cricket at 30 and in three years is now the captain of India besides being the best T20I batter in the world.
