Published: Apr 20, 2017, 06:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 20, 2017, 06:49 PM (IST)
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have announced Madhya Pradesh (MP) cricketer Harpreet Singh as replacement for the injured Sarfaraz Khan for the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 season. The 19-year old Sarfaraz injured his leg while fielding during a pre-season practice session, and has been out of action since. Harpreet, the middle-order batsman who represents MP in domestic circuit, was not picked by any franchise during the auctions after being mistaken for Harmeet Singh, a former Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Mumbai Ranji cricketer, who was arrested for driving his car on one of the platforms of the Andheri station in Mumbai.
Prior to the IPL auctions, Harpreet Singh had a tremendous run at the domestic circuit. He ended as the highest run-getter in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The left-handed batsman hit 211 runs in 4 matches for the Central Zone in the tournament, at an impressive average of 52.75. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy that followed, he scored 271 runs from 5 games at 67.75, with a fifty and a hundred. Later, he was also picked for the India B squad in Deodhar Trophy, where he scored 29 and 36 in the two games he played.
Harpreet has previously been a part of the now-defunct Pune Warriors India (PWI) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL. His addition will lend solidity to RCB batting, which has not quite clicked so far with the team losing more games than winning. The team is currently languishing at the sixth spot, with just 2 wins from 6 games.
