‘Less effort won’t work’, Prabhsimran reveals Team India ambitions:PBKS star wants to be like ‘Mahi’, explains dynamics with Yuvraj

Punjab Kings started their IPL 2026 campaign winning against the Gujarat Titans and the Chennai Super Kings dominantly while chasing the target. Both of the times, Punjab opener Prabhsimran Singh gave a quickfire start, scoring 37(24) and 43(36) in the first and second games of the season, respectively. During the media interaction with Bhaskar English, the PBKS opener dropped hints on his efforts to climb the stairs to the Indian national cricket team. Meanwhile, he opened up on his wicketkeeping idol while reflecting on his training in hindsight with former Indian legend Yuvraj Singh, who has trained star players like Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and even Prabhsimran’s opening colleague, Priyansh Arya, as well. ‘You’ve to do more considering the competition’: Prabhsimran on Team India hopes Prabhsimran Singh has been a consistent performer for Punjab since 2023. The opening batter rose to prominence in the IPL 2023, scoring 358 runs from 14 innings with one century and a half-century. He further scored another 354 runs in the 2024 season. However, the 25-year-old had the best-ever season in 2025, scoring 549 runs from 17 innings at an average of 32.29 with four half-centuries. Answering what he expects to do more to meet standards for the Indian national team, “The level of competition for an India berth means you have to push yourself even harder; you’re not going to make the cut with less effort. However, you’ll only grow positively if you take these things in the form of healthy competition. That chance (to play in senior team) will come, but I’ll need to keep raising the bar.” ‘I try to be like Mahi bhai in wicketkeeping’: Prabhsimran on emulating cricket stars Prabhsimran Singh also addressed the query whether he tries to copy or emulate some of Team India wicketkeeper batters like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan. Although he denied taking any inspiration from batting techniques, he did reveal his wicketkeeping idol. He said to the media, “You cannot say I try to copy anyone…they are all my seniors, and each has their own style of play, while I have mine. Now that I am keeping as well, I have watched Mahi bhai’s keeping; his hands are so fast. I don’t try to copy anyone in batting, but when it comes to keeping, I consciously make an effort to be like Mahi bhai.” Also read: MCA unveils Ravi Shastri stand at Wankhede Stadium: Indian cricket legend calls it ‘big honour, Maha CM attends ceremony ‘Elder brother relationship with Yuvi paaji’: Prabhsimran Singh on mentor dynamics Last year, in September, Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya were spotted training with Yuvraj Singh during the break before IPL 2026. The training video gained buzz on social media as Yuvraj has also groomed Indian team stars like Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma. Punjab player spoke on seeking guidance for the World Cup-winning star, “With Yuvi paaji, the relationship isn’t like coach and student…it’s more like an elder brother. Whenever Priyansh Arya and I get time, we call him and request guidance, and he arranges training sessions either in Mohali or Gurgaon. We even have the freedom to call him and disturb him at 3 or 4 in the morning.” Cooper Connolly reflects on stellar IPL debut, learning from Shreyas Iyer Punjab Kings have unearthed a new star in Cooper Connolly, who made quite an impact on his IPL debut. The left-hander, coming in to bat at number three, hit an unbeaten 72 off 44 deliveries to power Punjab Kings past the finish line in what was a tricky chase. Speaking on his IPL debut, Connolly spoke about the emotions going into the match. “I think when I was sitting there on the bench getting ready to route, I was pretty nervous. That’s probably where it all started. Probably in the morning when I woke up, I had a little bit of a weird feeling in my stomach,” he said. “Just nerves, but nerves are always a good thing. But yeah, walking out to bat, I was obviously quite nervous. And then, yeah, I just slowly got into, I guess, got into things. And the longer I was out there, the more comfortable I felt. And the more I just tried to relax myself and just, I guess, play what’s in front of me,” he added. The 22-year-old also spoke about learning from his Punjab Kings captain, Shreyas Iyer. “I spoke to Shreya a little bit during the Australia A vs India A series in Kanpur a couple of months back and we just communicated and spoke. I enjoy watching him,” he said. “I enjoy learning off him. And yeah, he’s obviously said some nice words about me, but I’m very thankful for that. He’s a world-class player,” the all-rounder explained.