New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Punjab Kings (PBKS) wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh has attributed his successful opening partnership with Priyansh Arya to an unselfish tactical approach and a deep-rooted personal bond that extends beyond the cricket field.

Right-handed Prabhsimran and left-handed Priyansh had amassed 532 runs as an opening pair in IPL 2025. The dynamic opening pair have done well in both of PBKS wins in IPL 2026, including a whirlwind 61-run stand coming in 4.1 overs against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

“Actually, in every match, it’s not necessary that only my hits are working well or he will be only doing the hitting. So, sometimes, if I’m hitting the ball well, then he gives me a single and we rotate the strike and then I am going for the big hits.

“Sometimes, if I’m not getting to hit boundaries, while he’s (Priyansh) getting to hit them for runs – it’s my responsibility to give him a single and make him hit bowlers. So, this is a very good thing. Off the field as well. Off-the-field, we stay together and talk a lot. We try a lot to talk about cricket. But even if we don’t, we talk a lot about life,” said Prabhsimran, while replying to a question from IANS in a virtual roundtable chat on Thursday.

Prabhsimran struck 30 sixes in IPL 2025, which placed him fifth in the top six-hitters list. He attributed the enhancement in his six-hitting skills to having regular sessions under legendary white-ball batting all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.

“I practice for everything. As I said before, I practiced with Yuvraj paaji and it goes well. When you practice, you have to do it in different ways. You have to practice for hitting sixes, playing for a longer period, facing new and old balls and all of this then boils down to the technique,” he said.

Prabhsimran is always in constant competition with his other wicketkeeper-batter peers Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel. Though Prabhsimran said he stays true to his attacking batting style, he admitted to sharpening his skills behind the stumps by observing MS Dhoni.

“I can’t say I copy them because they are all seniors. They have their own style of playing. I have my own style. But now, as they say, I’m keeping as well. So, when I would see Mahi bhai keeping, as everyone knows about him, that he has fast hands, it struck a chord with me. So, I don’t like to bat like anyone else, but I try to keep like Mahi bhai.”

Prabhsimran signed off by saying that PBKS prioritises match-winning performances over individual honours. “I can only say that I used to be out in the 30-40s before. So, now I try to play longer. Mainly, like we talk about in team meetings, we don’t care if we have to go for the orange cap or the purple cap. You have to make such an impact that you can easily win matches for your team.”

–IANS

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