After Mohali Kings’ 5-wicket win against Amritsar Soormas in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League 2026’s inaugural game, Mohali’s ‘man of the moment’ Anmolpreet Singh (133 off just 51 balls, with 10 fours and 12 sixes) said, “I wish, and I will feel lucky if people get to watch this knock.” From then on, it seems like all the stars have aligned in the Patiala-born batter’s favour as he has played the game-defining knocks for the Kings in almost every game except for the two single-digit outings of 8 and 5 against Bathinda Royals and Ludhiana Lions, respectively, in the third and sixth fixture of the tournament.
In a country of more than a billion people like India, which is full of cut-throat competition in cricket, many people ‘outside Punjab’ might struggle to remember Anmolpreet Singh’s title-winning century for his state team in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-24, which helped Punjab secure a major domestic title after a long wait of 30 years since their Ranji win in 1993.
He smashed a swashbuckling knock of 113 runs off 61 balls, hitting 10 fours and six sixes against Baroda in the summit clash of SMAT 2023-24. He also stitched two match-winning and crucial partnerships, including a 72-run stand with Mandeep Singh for the third wicket, followed by a game-defining 138 with Nehal Wadhera for the fourth.
A string of agonies: Missed two IPL seasons despite two amazing SMAT editions
On the back of his batting heroics in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-24 (355 runs in nine innings, with an average of 44.38, hitting a century and a half-century), the Sunrisers Hyderabad re-invested their trust in Anmolpreet and retained him for IPL 2024. But destiny had other plans: he played only two matches, registering a duck and 5, before the franchise released him later that year.
Following an unexpected IPL season in 2024, Anmolpreet went through a good 6-match season in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, scoring 178 runs in six innings, including a half-century. In this season, Anmol averaged 35.6 and had a good-enough strike rate of 163.3.
Furthermore, his purple patch in the domestic T20s continued in the SMAT 2025-26. In Punjab’s journey to the Super League during this edition, their trusted number three batter scored 349 runs in 10 innings, averaging 34.90 with a strike rate of 175.37, including two half-centuries. Although it ended up as a season to forget for Punjab, Anmolpreet’s batting consistency throughout these two SMAT seasons was something that attracted the eyeballs.
But what came as an agony for the 28-year-old batter, amidst and despite these two good SMAT editions, was going unsold in two successive IPL auctions for the 2025 and 2026 editions, respectively. At the base price of ₹30 lakh in both auctions, Anmolpreet’s name tag couldn’t land in the hands of any of the franchises’ representatives in the room.
But there’s a famous philosophical notion which reads, ‘the best thing about the hard-soul fighters is that they don’t choose to quit, even after the toughest hardships in their way.’ The same was the way Anmol decided to keep moving on despite missing two IPLs in successive years.
Sher-E-Punjab T20 League 2026: Finally, a platform to prove potential one more time
Before we move forward in this journey of Anmolpreet’s way back to IPL, let’s recall a famous interview in which the American professional basketball player Jimmy Butler spoke about the hardships and battles of a sportsperson on the way to a strong comeback. “You got to keep working; your time is going to come; you’re here for a reason; it is going to happen. You’ve got to be ready, because if you’re not, it’s on you,” said one of the masters of lockdown defence.
Although cricket and basketball are two different games, the arc of Anmolpreet Singh’s T20 career certainly echoes the notion that ‘Playoff Jimmy’ gave during his 2020 interview in the JJ Redick Podcast. But one might ask a question straightaway: why so? The answer lies in the continuous grit and perseverance which Anmolpreet showcased on his return to T20 cricket in the inaugural edition of the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League 2026.
In the tournament opener against Amritsar Soormas in Punjab’s first franchise-based T20 League, Anmol started exactly from where he left off in his last T20 knock of 38 runs off just 14 balls, hitting four fours and three sixes against Madhya Pradesh in Punjab’s last game in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26.
Taking on the Soormas’ bowling attack across all corners of the ground, he went on to smash 133 runs off just 51 balls, hitting 10 fours and 12 sixes, alongside a match-winning partnership of 151 with skipper Ramandeep Singh (69 off 40 balls) to help Mohali chase a massive 259-run target like a cakewalk.
Except for his 8 and 5 against Bathinda and Ludhiana in Mohali’s second and third games in the tournament, the right-handed number three has been one of the most consistent things to happen for his side throughout the entire tournament. After those two single-digit outings against Bathinda and Ludhiana, Anmol smashed four consecutive half-centuries, including a sensational 48-ball 96 with seven fours and six sixes against Fazilka Falcons. The four half-centuries were followed by his crucial knock of 49 runs off 28 balls, with six fours and a six against Bathinda Royals in his team’s last league fixture.
Though the team’s journey in the tournament ended in the knockouts with a 7-wicket defeat against the Amritsar Soormas in the first semi-final, Anmolpreet managed to be the top scorer for his side with a 43-run knock off 26 balls, with 5 fours and a six.
Eventually, his amazing run of form in the tournament ended just 3 runs shy of the 500-run mark, scoring 497 runs off just 254 balls across nine innings with a brilliant batting average of 62.13 and a strike rate of 195.67, including a century and four half-centuries.
“I just want to perform and give my best for the franchise which picks me” – Anmolpreet on IPL 2027 hopes
Meanwhile, just a day before the semi-final clash against Amritsar Soormas, Anmolpreet Singh sat with Umesh Sharma in an exclusive interview, where he poured out his emotions and thoughts on a potential IPL comeback and his commendable run of form with the bat.
“Surely, my main motive is to get picked in the IPL next year. I have worked hard on myself in the last two years. Meanwhile, I have kept questioning and challenging myself about the areas I am lacking in and why I am not getting picked. Now, God has made me perform and give my best in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League. I am happy and grateful that people have now watched the results of my hard work and grind behind the scenes,” he said when asked if he is considering an IPL comeback as a personal target owing to his outings in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League.
“I hope that franchises watch, or maybe they have watched my knocks in this tournament. So, I wish I get picked in IPL, which will also be beneficial for my career, and I will also try my best to produce the favourable outcomes for the team I play for in IPL,” he added.
Furthermore, Mohali’s leading run-scorer in the inaugural Sher-E-Punjab edition also answered the question of whether he would love to be picked by any specific IPL franchise or if he would only be focusing on getting picked for the upcoming edition in 2027.
“See, as a cricketer, one just wants to play for the team he gets picked for; the same factor applies to me as well. I just want to perform and give my best for any of the franchises which pick me next year in IPL 2027. You know, in the years I’ve spent in IPL, I didn’t get enough chances to play and prove myself. So, I wish I get the chance to prove myself next year in IPL 2027,” he concluded.
