Priyank Panchal

Some Lesser Known Facts About Priyank Panchal

• Priyank Panchal is an Indian cricketer who plays for Gujarat’s team in domestic competitions. He is a right-handed batter who came to the limelight when he got selected as the replacement for India’s test vice-captain Rohit Sharma for the tour of South Africa 2021/22 as a third opener alongside Mayank Aggarwal and KL Rahul.

  More details here – https://t.co/XXH3H8MXuM#TeamIndia #SAvIND https://t.co/jppnewzVpG

  — BCCI (@BCCI) December 13, 2021

• After getting selected in the Indian test team, he told, ^[4]The Times of India
  

  “It was just three days back that I returned home from South Africa. I hadn’t even unpacked properly, and now, I find myself landing in Mumbai (to join the team India bio-bubble). “I’ve been doing well since the last few years for Gujarat and India ‘A’ and I’ve been waiting for this chance for many years, but I didn’t expect to get this chance. This is a pleasant surprise.”

  

• However, this is not the first time that Priyank Panchal will be representing the Indian team on an international level. Before this, in January 2021, he was selected as the reserve player for the India tour of England. Also, he was once part of the Indian dressing room way back in 2012 as a cover for the Nagpur Test against England. ^[5]Indian Express Limited

• He started playing cricket at a very young age. He got good support from his father who himself played at the inter-college level. Recalling that time, he said,
  

  “My father used to wake me up at 4:30 am and get me ready for my early morning matches.”

  His father also took care of his diet and ensured that he had a proper meal avoiding junk food. His diet consists of dry fruits and milk. He had a dream of playing for India one day. For which, he keeps the diary with himself filled with daily experiences and inspirational quotes and what he needs to do to realize his dream to play for India.

• His father passed away when he was 15 years old due to cardiac arrest. Despite that tragedy, Priyank didn’t give up and started focusing on his game, even more, to pay the best tribute to his father after getting selected at the highest level in cricket. He told,
  

  “My father loved cricket and his contribution to my life can’t be described in words. He has helped me reach where I am today and his absence made me even stronger.”

• He first played cricket for Under-15s in the 2003–04 Polly Umrigar Trophy. In 2005-06, he played the 2005–06 Vijay Merchant Trophy at the Under-17 level. In that tournament, he scored a century.

• On 27 February 2008, he appeared in a List-A match against Maharashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he scored 123 runs off 115 balls which included 17 fours and one six. In the following season, he made his first-class debut for Gujarat against Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy. This game was won by Gujarat by an inning margin.

• As time went by, he was emerging as the leading run-scorer for Gujarat. His 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season ended with the most runs in the competition with 1310 runs in 17 innings with an average of 87.33 and helped Gujarat to win their maiden title in Ranji Trophy. In the same season, he scored the first triple century for Gujarat ever with 314 against Punjab. After scoring the most runs for his team, he said,
  

  “If my father was alive today, he would have been proud to see me reach this level and score so many runs for Gujarat.”

  

  

  He then emerged as the leading run-scorer for Gujarat in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy where he scored 542 runs in seven games.

• Soon, he made his place in the 2018-19 Duleep Trophy team for India Green. He became the leading run-scorer for Gujarat in 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy (367 runs in eight matches) and in the group stage of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy (898 runs in nine matches).

  

• In August 2019, he was made the captain of the India Red team for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy. In October 2019, he was included in India-B’s squad for the 2019-20 Deodhar Trophy.
  

  

  

• In 2020, Priyank Panchal scored a century for India A against New Zealand A at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. While playing for India-A, he worked closely with Rahul Dravid. While playing for India A, he scored valiant 160 runs against Sri Lanka at home in 2019. In the second unofficial Test at Port of Spain against West Indies A, he played one of his finest innings when he scored 58 and 68 runs in both innings respectively at a time when 19 wickets fell on the same day. He was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ in that game.

  

• Interestingly, since the 2016-17 season, Panchal holds the record for making the most runs by any batter in first-class matches in India. ^[6]Hindustan Times

• Priyank Panchal works as a tax assistant at the income tax office in Ahmedabad. He got the job in 2014 through the Sports quota. In his initial days, he was coached by ex-Gujarati Ranji player Kiran Brahmbhatt with whom, he was coached for four years. Talking about him, he said,
  

  “Kiran sir was a fine cricketer. He taught me the basics of the game and helped me hone my skills. I will always remain grateful to him.”

• Besides cricket, he is a science geek who is fascinated by artificial intelligence, robotics, algorithms on how stock markets work, and how airfares rise and fall.