Harpreet Singh Bhatia

Hailing from Durg, Chhattisgarh, Harpreet Singh Bhatia came into the reckoning after scoring 709 runs in the Cooch Behar Trophy 2008-09. He won the award for the best Under-19 Player of the Season for his performance. He is a left-handed batter and right-arm medium-pacer who started his career for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit before shifting to his birth state in 2018. The southpaw made his List-A debut in the 2007-08 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Named vice-captain of the side in the 2009 U-19 tour of Australia, Harpreet displayed more of his batting brilliance, scoring 262 runs at an average of 52.40. This was followed by a FIrst-Class debut, which saw him feature for Madhya Pradesh in the 2009-10 season of the Ranji Trophy.

Taking a step further, Harpreet earned a spot in the India squad for the U-19 World Cup 2009-10, playing alongside the likes of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal.

He made his T20 debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2010, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders against Mumbai Indians. He then played for the now-defunct Pune Warriors India in IPL 2012.

A case of mistaken identity denied him a contract in the IPL 2017 when news agencies reported Harpreet Singh as Harmeet Singh, who was arrested for driving his car onto the platform of the Andheri railway station in Mumbai.

Harpreet joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as Sarfaraz Khan’s replacement in IPL 2017. However, he did not get to play a game.

He played his next IPL match in 2023 for Punjab Kings, setting the record for the longest gap between two appearances.

The domestic cricket veteran moved to Chattisgarh ahead of the 2018 season and was soon named the captain of the side across all formats.

He had a great 2022-23 season with the bat, emerging as Chhattisgarh's top-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 196 runs in five innings. He went on to smash 516 runs in seven innings, including two hundreds, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

(As of March 2024)