For Pratham Singh, Duleep Trophy inclusion a ‘validation’ of run of scores he has had

He scored 130 and 143 against Gujarat and TNCA President’s XI in the Buchi Babu tournament, while he was the top run-getter for Railways with 530 runs from 12 innings at an average of 48.18 in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy.

Pratham Singh scored two centuries during the ongoing Buchi Babu tournament for Railways. | Photo Credit: LAKSHMI NARAYANAN E / THE HINDU

Following his two hundreds in the ongoing Buchi Babu tournament, Railways’ left-handed opener Pratham Singh has been included in the India-A Duleep Trophy squad as some top players are to miss the second round due to national call-up.

Shubman Gill, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, and Akash Deep will be with the national squad for the first Test versus Bangladesh that begins in Chennai on September 19.

Pratham, who’s in Anantapur with the India-A squad, said his call-up is a “validation” for the run of scores he’s had.

“I’m looking forward to do well for the team. Probably, learn a lot from here and just move forward for my Railways team and do well there as well,” he said over phone on Monday.

He scored 130 (139b, 14x4, 3x6) and 143 (207b, 19x4, 3x6) against Gujarat and TNCA President’s XI in the Buchi Babu tournament, while he was the top run-getter for Railways with 530 runs from 12 innings at an average of 48.18 in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy.

In his last Ranji match in February, he scored an unbeaten 169 (300b, 16x4, 1x6) to take his team home versus Tripura in what is now the highest successful chase (378 for five) in the history of Ranji Trophy.

Speaking of his major takeaway from the Buchi Babu tournament, the 32-year-old said: “I mean it was a good preparation for the four-day game. Be it for the (upcoming) domestic season or the Duleep Trophy, because I feel that all the good cricketers from across the country played the tournament with full intensity. I scored a few runs there and I liked it.”

Pratham mentioned that he’s looking forward to play with Mayank Agarwal, who will lead the India-A side in Gill’s absence.

“I think Mayank is someone I’ve been looking up to since he’s an opener. He’s very intense. I’m pretty sure I’ll get to learn a lot from him,” he said.

Along with Pratham, Vidarbha captain and wicketkeeper-batter Akshay Wadkar, 19-year-old Andhra batter Shaik Rasheed, Mumbai left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, and 20-year-old Uttar Pradesh medium-pacer Aaqib Khan have also been included in the India-A squad.