'Wouldn’t have been possible without your guidance' - Swapnil Singh expresses gratitude towards Irfan Pathan upon IPL comeback

31-year-old Swapnil Singh was elated after being roped in by the Lucknow Super Giants for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. After a break of almost six years, Singh will get a chance of playing the IPL again. The last time he was seen in the tournament was back in 2017, when he represented the Punjab-based franchise against Rising Pune Supergiant.

At the recently concluded IPL 2023 auction, he was signed by LSG at his base price of INR 20 lakh. Bowling all-rounder Singh has seen many ups and downs in his extremely unpredictable career. Although the left-armer was one of 25 probables during the Under-19 World Cup of 2008, he failed to make it to the squad for Malaysia. 

Later on, he made his first-class debut for Baroda at the age of 14. His performances at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he claimed one of his finest figures of 6/19, helped him find a spot in the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) squad. He had been a part of the Mumbai Indians earlier, but never got a game to play.

But one special connection he has from his time with the Baroda domestic side is with former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan. When Baroda removed Swapnil Singh from their state side, the Indian veteran played a crucial role behind the cricketer's smooth transition from Baroda to Uttarakhand state side. Irfan Pathan, born in Baroda and a former member of the Baroda team, had a special message for Swapnil, who found his way back into IPL.

Swapnil shared a video on Instagram after being roped in by LSG, where he said that he is really excited about the upcoming edition of the tournament, and thanked LSG for showing faith in him. He also expressed that he eagerly awaits the tournament to begin. He captioned the video and wrote: “Thank you @lucknowsupergiants for the faith #abapnibaarihai #superfam #supergiants”

Irfan Pathan shared a congratulatory message for him and dropped a comment saying: “Congratulations buddy. You deserve it.” Swapnil thanked Pathan for his immense support throughout the year as he replied: “@irfanpathan_official thank you bhaiya. My MAN !!!!! Wouldn’t have been possible without your guidance. WE IN THIS TOGETHER.”

Swapnil’s numbers at the IPL haven’t been that great. But he has 58 wickets from 67 T20 matches. In the List A games, he has picked up 67 wickets in 61 games, and surely will be one of the potential players to watch out for this season, at the IPL.