Prince Yadav’s India selection was never included in the family’s expectations. In reality, on Tuesday afternoon, his father Ram Niwas had stepped out purchasing household supplies when the phone calls suddenly started pouring in. The retired RPSF (Railway Protection Special Force) head constable could hardly understand what was unfolding.
“I never imagined this would happen. Today, my phone just hasn’t stopped ringing, and people are standing outside my house to congratulate us.
Even those who never used to come by are visiting today.

The reason behind the excitement was the defining moment of Prince’s career. While preparing for Lucknow Super Giants’ IPL 2026 encounter against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, the 18-year-old received his first-ever India ODI call-up for the series versus Afghanistan.
For Ram Niwas, however, cricket was never meant to turn into a full-time profession. Like many fathers from salaried backgrounds, he wanted security for his son and repeatedly encouraged him toward government jobs.
“When he was 17-18 years old, he could think of nothing except cricket. What more does a salaried employee want than to see his child settled in life? But these days, you cannot pressure children too much either. So I remained quiet. I became very upset with him at times, but he only wanted to play cricket,” he said. He made Prince apply for recruitment in the Delhi Police and for several Group D positions. There were occasions when Prince failed written exams, and even after clearing them, he would miss interviews because his concentration remained fixed on cricket.
 

What made Prince’s ascent even more remarkable was how delayed it all began.
At a stage when most cricketers are already immersed in organised cricket, Prince was still playing tennis-ball
games in Najafgarh, just a few kilometres from the hometown of Virender Sehwag. He had already earned a
reputation for his yorkers in local tennis-ball circuits, but there was no clear path to his cricket.
Then arrived the breakthrough.
Coach Amit Vashishtha happened to pause near a local ground while riding on his scooter. What he noticed
instantly caught his eye: six straight yorkers from a young fast bowler.
Vashishtha, recognised for mentoring players like Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Dagar and Lalit Yadav, called Prince
over and asked him to come to the ground the following day.

 

“Accha khelta hai. Kal ground par aa ja, milte hain. Beta, tu 18 saal ka hai. Cricket mein aadhe logon ka career iss
umar tak khatam ho jaata hai. Tujhe bahut zyada mehnat karni padegi,” Amit Vashishtha told him.
Prince arrived holding two tennis balls in his hand. Vashishtha asked him to bowl a few overs and immediately
recognised the raw talent standing before him after witnessing another spell of toe-crushing yorkers.
The task ahead was massive. Prince had never even handled a leather ball at 18 and was competing against

cricketers who had already spent years inside academies and structured age-group systems.
There were hurdles too. In 2019, he was suspended for two years because of age fudging.
But gradually, things started to shift.

Prince first received an opportunity as a net bowler for Delhi before securing his place in the senior squad. He made his
first-class debut in 2024 and then delivered a breakthrough Vijay Hazare Trophy season, picking up 18 wickets in
eight matches at an economy of 5.16. The displays grabbed the attention of many, including Virat Kohli,
whom he met through Ishant Sharma.
He backed it up with 11 wickets in his debut Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign, ending as Delhi’s leading
wicket-taker in the tournament.
His performances in the Delhi Premier League, where he claimed 13 wickets in 10 matches, eventually earned him
an Indian Premier League contract with Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 30 lakh.
Prince played six matches in IPL 2025 before enjoying an impressive 2026 season with 16 wickets in 13 games. One of
the standout moments arrived when he dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck with a sharp nip-backer.
For Vashishtha, the India call-up felt extremely personal.
Just imagine — an 18-year-old boy who had never even touched a leather ball. It was unbelievably difficult. At that
age, most cricketers have already played half their cricket, but this boy worked exceptionally hard.

“Maine iski yorker deliveries se batters ke pairon ke naakhunon se khoon nikalte dekha hai,” he added.
“Main aaj bahut emotional hoon. Pradeep Sangwan India material tha. Woh 50-Test player ban sakta tha, lekin
cheezein uske favour mein nahi gayin. Aaj main bahut khush hoon, apne emotions control nahi kar paa raha.
Mera bahut bada sapna meri aankhon ke saamne poora hua hai [I am deeply emotional today. Pradeep Sangwan
was India material. He could have been a 50-Test player, but circumstances did not favour him. Today, I am truly
happy and unable to control my emotions. One of my biggest dreams has come true before my eyes],” said Vashishtha.
India ODI squad vs Afghanistan
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey