Kamal Ghorui
NEW CHANDIGARH: It was not long ago that Prince Yadav would get a frequent thrashing from his father for loitering around in the neighbourhood playing tennis-ball cricket. Till the age of 17, Prince played every tennis-ball cricket match in Dariyapur Khurd, a village beyond Virender Sehwag’s birthplace, Najafgarh, in the southwestern outskirts of the Capital.“Bahut maar khaata thaa ghar pe. (I used to get a lot of beating at home),” says the LSG pacer, with a mischievous smile during a chat with TOI here, “I never aspired to become a professional cricketer. The thought never even crossed my mind. I just enjoyed playing tennis-ball cricket and did nothing else.”Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!At first glance, it’s hard to imagine Prince as a fast bowler. He doesn’t stand very tall and the ultralean physique could be very misleading. His father’s (a retired Railways Police Force personnel) concerns were legitimate. The family’s earnings largely depended on farming wheat, perhaps Prince didn’t seem to be adding anything to it. But the irony is that he is still into playing tennis-ball cricket at the age of 24, even as he is fast becoming a stand-out uncapped Indian fast bowler in the IPL.“I still play tennis-ball cricket even after coming back from last year’s IPL. I can’t speak for everyone, but it helps me with my arm speed because you need to put in a lot of effort to bowl fast with the tennis ball. Yorker zorr se lagta hain (you can bowl a quick yorker),” he says before quickly adding, “Whenever I get time off from cricket, I go to the farms. I am in love with farming. We harvested wheat just a few days back.”IPL 2026: Best bowling average & strike rate (Minimum 10 wickets)
On Sunday, Prince came out of the massacre caused by Punjab Kings batters with figures of 2/25 in his four overs. He has been known for his yorkers in Delhi cricket. This year, though, he looks like a more rounded bowler. LSG bowling coach Bharat Arun claims he has all the ingredients to make him a special fast bowler. “We have seen that he can get the ball to swing and also has variations. He has got a good variety of slower balls and the yorkers. And he works very hard towards sharpening those skills whenever he gets a chance to bowl,” Arun says.Prince has been learning on the job since he was picked by former Delhi cricketer Lalit Yadav who insisted he join an academy 15 kms from his home at the age of 17. And during LSG’s practice sessions, it’s impossible to see Prince too far away from Mohammed Shami. He will walk up to Shami after each delivery, and seek a nod.“You have to be blessed to bowl with someone like Shami. He is always with all the young fast bowlers. He will talk about life off the field whenever we are not practicing. He goes out with us,” gushes Prince, “I can’t share what he says because those things are very personal.”“After the last IPL, I was in constant touch with Zaheer Khan (LSG mentor last year). I have spent a lot of time with Ishant Sharma in the Delhi state team. Since I got into Delhi cricket, I have been only learning about the art of fast bowling,” he added.Everything seems to be happening fast for Prince at the moment. But he was dealt a hard blow when the BCCI banned him for two years for age-fudging in 2020 after he played U-19 cricket within a year of playing with the hard ball. “That was a very dark phase. My family supported me because they understood I could do something in my life by playing cricket. Former Delhi fast bowler Pradeep Sangwan came to me and said he will train me during that period. For two years, I quietly trained with him and played tennis-ball cricket. That’s why I could hit the ground running immediately after the ban ended,” Prince recalls.Prince is now in the BCCI’s shortlist of targeted fast bowlers. He is seen as a potential who can carry India’s fast bowling forward. But for now, he is just glad to see his family happy watching him play cricket.
