'Prince' of Najafgarh: Chucking Delhi Police Constables' exam to live IPL dream

NEW DELHI: A few years back, Najafgarh-based Railway Protection Force's ASI Ram Niwas Yadav was extremely worried about the future of his youngest son Prince, who was only interested in bowling yorkers at tennis ball tournaments.

However, the youngster was unruffled and told his father straight up, "Papa aap mera chinta karna chhod dijiye. Main apne se kuch kar loonga (Dad stop worrying about me. I would manage something on my own)."

Cut to 2026 and the seemingly nonchalant boy has managed to come good on the promise. The Lucknow Super Giants swing sensation has already breached the defences of experienced India internationals such as Axar Patel and Ishan Kishan in successive IPL games.

"Any father would be worried about the future of his kids and so was I. Till the age of 18, he had not even bowled once with the leather ball. I literally forced him to appear for the Delhi Police's Constables' Exam and he was fit enough to clear the physical round.

"But he wasn't well prepared for written test because his mind was elsewhere," recalled Ram Niwas.

But like most doting fathers, he too had no other option but to back his audacious boy.

"Bete ki zid hai aur humein pura karna thaa. Ek ASI ke salary mein aur kitna hi ho pata hai (It was his passion so I had to believe in him. (But) how much can you manage with an ASI's salary?). But I am happy that I allowed him to fly on his own," said Ram Niwas, who now has people from nearby Kheda Dabar village in Najafgarh's Dariyapur thronging his house thanks to Prince's IPL exploits.

"After Ishan Kishan's dismissal (LSG vs SRH game), a lot of our neighbours came and told me that 'Usne iss dehat (rural area) ka naam roushan kar diya' (People have come up to tell me that he has brought fame to this hamlet).

"Pahle humare is ilaake ko log isliye jaante thee kyonki poorv president sahibaa (Pratibha Patil) aaye the Chaudhary Bramprakash Ayurvedic Sansthan ke udgathan pe (2012). Ab cricket ke liye famous ho gaya (earlier peo[ple knew us because of a visit by former President Pratibha Patil. Now it is famous for cricket)," the pride in Ram Niwas' voice was unmissable.

According to Ram Niwas, Prince's first and only coach till date, Amit Vashistha and former India U-19 World Cup winning pacer Pradeep Sangwan, played the biggest role in shaping Prince.

"I can't thank Amit sir enough. He saw him playing a tennis ball tournament and asked Prince to join his academy in Najafgarh. Pradeep ji (Sangwan) was also Amit sir's student and he helped him with fitness," he said.

There was a time when Prince would tie a sand bag on his back and run through paddy fields to improve his upper body fitness.

"Pradeep guided him a lot and Amit sir taught him technique. And how can I forget DPL (Delhi Premier League) and New Delhi team. Had DPL not been there, I don't think my son's progress would have been this quick. So I am grateful to DDCA too and also Vijay Dahiya sir," said Ram Niwas.

When PTI contacted the reticent Vashistha, who has been running the Sporting Cricket Club of Najafgarh for years, he spoke about Prince's inherent skill and ability to work hard.

"He could bowl yorkers and even swing the tennis ball at a decent clip. When I saw him, I told his friends to tell him to contact me. He was already 18 back then and there was very little time to quickly make the grade unlike those who come to me at 13 or 14.

"One thing that helped was his basics were strong and also he could impart back-spin on the ball, he had good arm speed -- traits essential for swing bowling," said Vashistha, who has also coached the likes of Lalit Yadav (Delhi all-rounder), and Railways' Himanshu Sangwan (last man to dismiss Virat Kohli in First-Class cricket) to name a few.

Vashistha feels the Prince's ability to work hard helps him stand out.

"Aap Delhi ki garmi mein 2 ghanta bowling dalwalo usse. Thakega nahi and will always follow instructions. His fitness has improved after working with Pradeep and obviously now when you get modern amenities while playing Ranji Trophy or for LSG, you can only improve. He worked with Zaheer Khan sir and now with Bharat Arun sir. Sky is the limit," said the coach.

In fact, national selectors wanted Prince to play one T20 World Cup warm-up game for India A but a knee injury left him unavailable. This was after a brilliant Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi where he had 18 wickets in 8 games including three-wicket hauls in four of the games.

BCCI 'ban' during age-group cricket

Prince did have a difficult two years during the COVID-19 lockdown when he was among the multiple Delhi cricketers who were banned for two years due to age-related discrepancies.

Father Ram Niwas described it as the most difficult period.

"I was very nervous and didn't know how would he handle the two-year ban. Its a lengthy period. But he just told me to relax, got Gym equipments at home and would train everyday for those two years."

The coach looked at the episode a tad differently.

"I believe since better part of the ban overlapped with COVID-19 lockdown, he didn't miss much of competitive cricket. Yes, he did miss out on playing Delhi U-23. But then when DPL happened he was back on track."

But the coach's dream is to see Prince in 'India Whites' as swing is his main weapon.

"If someone can swing the white ball with ease, he can work wonders with red ball," said Vashistha.