From tennis ball cricket to the Indian challenge: Prince Yadav's father reveals his son's journey

Prince Yadav’s rise to the Indian ODI squad was one of the most emotional stories from the latest announcement of the Afghanistan series, and for his family it was even bigger than the IPL itself. The young pacer’s father, Ram Niwas Yadav, recalled the sacrifices, tennis tournaments and years of hardship that eventually led to his son finally receiving the call to India he had dreamed of since childhood.

Prince earned his first ODI call-up after being named in India’s squad for the upcoming three-match series against Afghanistan starting on June 14. The Lucknow Super Giants skipper enjoyed a breakout IPL 2026 campaign and now finds himself rewarded with a place alongside senior bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna.

Speaking to ANI after the announcement of the team, the prince’s father admitted that the entire family and community celebrated the selection emotionally.

“The whole community came together. We also visited temples,” said Ram Niwas Yadav.

“It was a complete surprise, even bigger than the IPL. His hard work paid off.”

His father also revealed how Prince spent most of his early cricketing years playing tennis ball tournaments rather than formal academic cricket.

“He wanted to play cricket since childhood, although I encouraged him to focus on his studies because the competition is tough,” he said.

“Until 17-18, he played mostly with tennis balls, won trophies from Surat, Mumbai and often paid his own expenses.”

The sacrifices behind this journey were equally striking.

According to his father, Prince would even skip classes and use the money to fund his cricket and equipment expenses.

“He would skip school fees and use the money for cricket equipment instead,” added Ram Niwas.

“His interest fully shifted to cricket around the age of 10-11. His dream was always to wear the India jersey.”

The emotional moment finally came thanks to a phone call from Prince himself.

“He called me yesterday and said, ‘Dad, I’ve been selected for India.’ It was a huge surprise and a moment of great joy,” he said.

Frankly, the speed of Prince Yadav’s rise over the past year is almost unreal.

Only recently, the young Delhi pacer made headlines after he dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck in domestic cricket shortly after seeking advice from the Indian superstar himself.

Now he suddenly finds himself in the dressing room with Kohli as an India player.

HOW PRINCE YADAV GOT HIS CALLING IN INDIA

Prince’s maiden selection of India didn’t come out of nowhere.

The Lucknow Super Giants fast bowler has quietly been one of India’s most impressive opening seamers in white-ball cricket over the past year.

In IPL 2026, the right-arm pacer picked up 16 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 24, becoming one of the few bright spots for LSG in an otherwise disappointing season.

What stood out even more was his consistency.

Despite going through difficult middle and death stages, Prince has repeatedly delivered breakthroughs and demonstrated a maturity far beyond his level of experience.

His domestic performances were equally strong.

During the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Prince finished among the tournament’s top wicket-takers with 18 wickets at an average of just 19.27, further strengthening his position in the national selection.

The Indian selectors have also clearly started looking at younger fast bowlers as part of their plans to move into the 2027 ODI World Cup cycle.

This broader context also played a role in Prince’s choice.

With Jasprit Bumrah rested after managing the IPL 2026 workload and Mohammed Shami still unavailable, the selectors used the Afghanistan series to test newer pace options around the core group.

The inclusion of Prince alongside Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey reflects this broader planning.

India’s ODI squad for the Afghanistan series includes:

Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey.

The ODI series against Afghanistan begins on June 14 in Dharamsala before moving to Lucknow and Chennai.

– The end

Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

21 May 2026 22:30 IST

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