Prince Yadav’s first India ODI call-up came as a complete surprise, not something his family had mapped out. On Tuesday afternoon, his father Ram Niwas was simply out picking up groceries when the phone started to ring nonstop with congratulations and updates. Even neighbours who rarely visited suddenly appeared at the door, unable to hide their excitement.
Ram Niwas, a retired RPSF (Railway Protection Special Force) head constable, struggled to take it all in while still trying to manage daily life. “I never expected this to happen. Today my phone hasn’t stopped ringing, and people are standing at my door to congratulate us,” he said, adding that he was in the market with a shopping bag when his wife called. “Since then, I’ve only been answering phone calls—I’ll buy the groceries some other time.”
Quick facts
- Prince Yadav received his maiden India ODI call-up.
- The call-up came for the ODI series against Afghanistan.
- It was announced while Prince was preparing for Lucknow Super Giants’ IPL 2026 match versus Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.
- Prince has played IPL 2025 (six matches) and is set for a strong 2026 season (16 wickets in 13 games).
- He was part of Delhi’s pathway, including time as a net bowler before senior selection.
The timing of the news underlined just how big a milestone this is in Prince’s career. The 18-year-old was preparing for Lucknow Super Giants’ IPL 2026 encounter against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur when the India call finally landed. For Ram Niwas, the reaction was personal, because cricket was never meant to become the full-time plan.
In his view, a stable job was the natural direction. Like many parents from salaried backgrounds, he pushed Prince towards government employment repeatedly. At the same time, he acknowledged that forcing a teenager into a fixed track has become harder in recent years.
“When he was 17-18 years old, he could see nothing beyond cricket,” Ram Niwas said. “What more does a salaried employee want than to see his child settled in life? But these days, you cannot force children too much either. So I stayed quiet. I got very angry with him at times, but he only wanted to play cricket.”
Government job attempts and the cricket focus
Prince was asked to apply for recruitment through the Delhi Police and for several Group D roles. There were moments when he did not clear written examinations, and even after clearing them, he would skip interviews because his attention never shifted from cricket. The pattern was clear: no matter what process was put in front of him, his mind stayed on the game.
What also stood out was the late start. While many players are already deep into structured development by the time they reach their late teens, Prince was still competing in tennis-ball matches in Najafgarh, just a few kilometres from Virender Sehwag’s home. In local tennis-ball circuits, he had built a reputation for yorkers, but he lacked clear direction for how to convert that raw skill into higher-level cricket.
Then a turning point arrived in the most casual way. Coach Amit Vashishtha was passing by a local ground on his scooter and stopped when he noticed something that immediately grabbed his attention—six consecutive yorkers from a young fast bowler.
Vashishtha, who has worked with players such as Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Dagar and Lalit Yadav, called Prince over and told him to report to the ground the very next day. “Accha khelta hai. Kal ground par aa ja, milte hain. Beta, tu 18 saal ka hai. Cricket mein aadhe logon ka career iss age tak khatam ho jaata hai. Tujhe bahut mehnat karni padegi,” Vashishtha told him.
Prince arrived with two tennis balls in his hand. Vashishtha asked him to bowl a few deliveries and quickly realised the raw potential on display, especially after watching another set of yorkers that hit with toe-crushing impact. But the scale of the challenge was massive: Prince had never even handled a leather ball at 18, and he was competing against players who had spent years inside academies and age-group systems.
There were setbacks as well. In 2019, Prince was banned for two years for age fudging. However, as time passed, the trajectory began to improve, with opportunities coming steadily rather than suddenly.
From net bowler to domestic breakthroughs
Prince first found a role as a net bowler for Delhi, before earning his place in the senior setup. His first-class debut arrived in 2024, and soon after that he produced a breakthrough Vijay Hazare Trophy season. In eight matches, he took 18 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 5.16, a return that drew attention from beyond Delhi circles.
His performances also brought him in contact with major figures in the game, including Virat Kohli, whom he met through Ishant Sharma. Prince then carried his momentum into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he took 11 wickets in his debut campaign and finished as Delhi’s leading wicket-taker.
Domestic exposure continued through the Delhi Premier League, where Prince claimed 13 wickets in 10 matches. That run ultimately helped him secure an IPL contract with Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 30 lakh.
In IPL 2025, Prince featured in six matches. The following season has been even more productive, with him collecting 16 wickets in 13 games in IPL 2026. One standout moment came when he dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck, using a sharp nip-backer to get the breakthrough.
For Vashishtha, the India call-up carried an emotional weight that went beyond cricket results. He described the difficulty of reaching this stage from a starting point where Prince had never even touched a leather ball.
“Just imagine—an 18-year-old kid who had never even touched a leather ball. It was extremely difficult,” Vashishtha said. “At that age, most cricketers have already played half their cricket, but this kid worked incredibly hard. We worked on his stamina, bowling, training and many other aspects of the game.”
Vashishtha also spoke about the intensity of Prince’s yorkers and what they can do to batters. “Maine iski yorker deliveries se batters ke pairon ke naakhunon se khoon nikalte dekha hai,” he added, describing the impact of those deliveries.
When asked about his feelings after seeing Prince earn the call, Vashishtha became emotional. He referenced Pradeep Sangwan and how his own path could have been different. “Main aaj bahut emotional hoon. Pradeep Sangwan India material tha. Woh 50-Test player ho sakta tha, lekin cheezein uske favour mein nahi gayin. Aaj main bahut khush hoon, apne emotions control nahi kar paa raha. Mera bahut bada sapna meri aankhon ke saamne poora hua hai [I am really emotional today. Pradeep Sangwan was India material. He could have been a 50-Test player, but things did not go his way. Today, I am truly happy and unable to control my emotions. A very big dream of mine has come true before I die],” he said.
India ODI squad vs Afghanistan
- Shubman Gill (c)
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer (vc)
- KL Rahul
- Ishan Kishan
- Hardik Pandya
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Washington Sundar
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Arshdeep Singh
- Prasidh Krishna
- Prince Yadav
- Gurnoor Brar
- Harsh Dubey
With Prince now inside India’s ODI group for Afghanistan, the story moves from local tennis-ball breakthroughs to the international stage—an unusual journey that began with late ambition, detours through job applications, and a coach’s sudden stop at a roadside ground.
