Prince of Najafgarh leads the bowling charts for Delhi

A few days ago, while speaking to www.thedelhijunction.com, Delhi cricket team’s Chief Coach Sarandeep Singh had called Prince Yadav among the best pace bowling talents in the country. He reserved high praise for his ability to bowl yorkers.

The 23-year-old pace bowler from Najafgarh area has impressed in his first season of white ball cricket at the national level, returning as Delhi’s top wickettaker in both one-dayers (28th across India) and T20s (26th across India). He picked 11 wickets in six one-day matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and 11 in eight T20s of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

“I had perfected yorkers while playing cricket with tennis ball. I began playing [with tennis ball] in my village with other kids when I was 11. I’d play in and against other villages,” says Yadav, who hails from Daryapur-Khurd village which is about 10 km beyond Najafgarh. 

“Once I’d played a game with the cricket ball against an academy. Lalit Yadav, Vision Panchal and Rohan Rathi had come there to play in that match. They saw me and asked me to play with the cricket ball. Then I joined D Force Academy, which is in Chhatikra Mor,” says the son of a farmer who grows wheat and mustard but was himself a bowler in village cricket circuit during his younger days.

Former Delhi player and left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan was there at the academy, offering him advice and guidance.

The academy was about 12 kilometres from his home.

The travel up and down through bus rides yielded some friendships that would go a long way in helping him tide over tough times that were to befall him. Yadav was caught in an overage scandal of which he doesn’t want to talk.

His career came to a standstill just when it was about to take off.

“I had graduated from Delhi under-19s to the Delhi team [in national T20s for] Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2018. Couldn’t get to play a match in SMAT and then had to go to Challenger Trophy. But then I got banned,” he recalls.

The ban, effective from December 2018, lasted for two years.

“Pradeep Sangwan helped me a lot, supported me, made me train with him. Lalit Yadav, Rohan Rathi, and Vision Panchal along with Sangwan, never allowed me to fall and struggle. They never made me feel that I cannot make a comeback. They supported me a lot,” says a grateful Yadav.

The ban meant he couldn’t play the 2019-20, 2020-21 seasons. Not just that, Yadav couldn’t also play the DDCA League where he had represented the Sporting Club and also Air India on stipend.

Once he was back, it took him a couple of years to return to the team. The 2021-22 and the 2022-23 seasons were spent on the sidelines.

“I have worked on the yorker too, bringing in variety, the wide one, the straight one and the dipping one.”

This should come in handy in the Indian Premier League this season when he turns up for the Lucknow Super Giants.

The 2023-24 brought in the Ranji Trophy debut. He played two games, including a truncated one where he couldn’t bowl, and picked one in the second match.

The current season in 2024-25 is where he came into his own.

Prior to playing for Delhi, he had turned up for Purani Dilli 6 in the Delhi Premier League, taking 13 wickets in 10 matches.  

Tags : Prince Yadav, Delhi cricket, IPL, Lucknow Super Giants, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Najafgarh, Pradeep Sangwan