Failed in police recruitment exam, BCCI imposed ban of 2 years, now will wreak havoc against England

New Delhi. When the story combines the wicket of cricket’s greatest batsman and the struggle of tears of a young bowler, then it is no longer just the story of a match. It becomes cinema. The story of Prince Yadav, the new fast bowler of the Indian cricket team, is also similar. When he was included in the ODI and T20 squads for the first time for the upcoming series against Afghanistan, Ireland and England, it was not just the selection of a player. This was the victory of the stubbornness of a boy from the outskirts of Delhi, who had broken all the rules and regulations of cricket.

Born in an ordinary family of Dariyapur Khurd village near Delhi, the path was never easy for Prince. His father Ram Niwas, who is a retired officer from Railway Police. Always worried about his son’s future. He wanted the Prince to leave sports and prepare for a secure government job. Under pressure from his father, Prince passed the physical examination of Delhi Police, but his passion for sports was so deep that he either failed in the written examination or deliberately did not go for the examination. During this entire struggle he got the silent support of his mother Santosh. On the basis of this trust of his mother, Prince used to travel for hours every day and go to the fields of Delhi to sweat.

King of tennis ball, unaware of leather ball
You will be surprised to know that Prince never touched a real leather cricket ball till the age of 18. He was considered the ‘King’ of tennis ball cricket in the dusty grounds of Najafgarh. On the basis of his fast pace and accurate yorker, he had made a big name at the local level. His luck changed when coach Amit Vashishtha noticed him. Vashishtha was surprised to see Prince throwing a dangerous yorker with a tennis ball. He immediately included this boy in his academy. But the challenge was very big. Starting out with a leather ball at the age of 18 was considered almost impossible. He had then said that at this age people’s careers end, and you are starting. If you want to move ahead, you will have to work twice as hard as others.

Age controversy and two-year ban
Prince doubled his efforts, but soon there was a twist in his story which tried to put a full stop to his career. In the year 2019, BCCI imposed a strict ban of two years on Prince on charges of age fraud. In order to play the Under-19 tournament for Delhi, he had shown his age as 5 years less in the documents. This blow could break any young player. When he returned after the ban ended, everything was over. He had to start from scratch. He became an ordinary net bowler to give practice to the domestic batsmen on the grounds. But he did not give up.

An amazing comeback from 2024 to 2026
The real story of Prince started from the domestic season of 2024. In Vijay Hazare Trophy, he took 18 wickets with an economy of 5.16. Soon after, playing for ‘Old Delhi-6’ in the Delhi Premier League, he took 13 wickets. He was rewarded for these performances in the IPL, where Lucknow Super Giants bought him at a base price of ₹30 lakh. IPL 2026 proved to be the turning point in Prince’s life. He forced big batsmen to kneel by taking 16 wickets in 13 matches.

That wicket of Virat Kohli
The most memorable moment of this season came when Prince faced Virat Kohli of Royal Challengers Bangalore. At the beginning of the tournament, it was Kohli who advised Prince that he should work on his inswing. Look at the game of fate, when the two came face to face after a few matches, Prince bowled Virat Kohli at zero (0) on the same sharp inswing. This wicket was so historical and poetic that even the selectors could not ignore this talent.

‘Prince’ reigns on the international stage
As soon as he joined the Indian team, Prince started shining. In his very first ODI match against Afghanistan, he bowled a brilliant spell of 2/56. After this, he created a sensation by registering figures of 3/22 on his T20 debut against Ireland. Currently, India faced defeat in the second match of the T20 series against England. In such a situation, there is full hope that to save the series, captain Shreyas Iyer will field this ‘X-factor’ bowler in the third match. This story of Prince Yadav, who came from the streets of tennis ball and reached the dreams of Lord’s and Melbourne, tells that if you have speed and determination, then even age and rules cannot stop your path.