Prince Yadav’s India call-up was never part of the family’s plans. In fact, on Tuesday afternoon, his father Ram Niwas had gone out to buy groceries, when the calls started coming. The retired RPSF (Railway Protection Special Force) head constable could hardly understand what was happening.“I never expected this to happen. Today, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing, and people are standing at my door to greet us. Even people who never used to come are coming today.” “I have no words. I was in the market with shopping bags when my wife called me. Since then, I have only been answering phone calls – I will buy groceries some other time,” said Ram Niwas. timesofindia.com. The reason for the excitement was the biggest moment of Prince’s career. Preparing for the IPL 2026 match against Lucknow Super Giants Rajasthan Royals In Jaipur, the 18-year-old received his first India ODI call-up for the series against Afghanistan.However, for Ram Niwas, cricket was never considered a full-time career. Like most fathers from a salaried background, he wanted stability for his son and repeatedly pushed him towards government jobs.He said, “When he was 17-18 years old, he didn’t see anything beyond cricket. What more does a salaried employee want than seeing his child settle down in life? But nowadays you can’t put too much pressure on children. So I remained silent. At times I used to get very angry at him, but he just wanted to play cricket.”He applied to Prince for recruitment in Delhi Police and many Group D jobs. Many times Prince would fail in the written examinations and even when he passed, he would skip the interviews because he was focused on cricket.

Virat Kohli and Prince Yadav (Image Credit: BCCI/IPL)

What made Prince’s rise even more unusual was how late it all started.At an age when most cricketers were already deeply immersed in structured cricket, Prince was still playing tennis-ball matches in Najafgarh, only a few kilometers away from Virender Sehwag’s home. He had already built a reputation for his yorkers in local tennis-ball circles, but his cricket found no direction.Then came the turning point.Coach Amit Vashishtha stopped near a local ground while passing by on his scooter. What he saw immediately caught his attention: six consecutive yorkers from a young fast bowler.Vashistha, known for working with players like Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Dagar and Lalit Yadav, called Prince and asked him to report to the field the next day.“Plays well. Come to the ground tomorrow, let’s meet. Son, you are 18 years old. Half of people’s career in cricket ends by this age. You will have to work very hard,” Vashishtha told him.The Prince arrived with two tennis balls in his hand. Vashishtha asked him to bowl a few balls and after watching another set of toe-crushing yorkers he immediately realized the raw potential in front of him.The challenge was very big. Prince had never touched a leather ball at the age of 18 and was competing against cricketers who had spent years in academies and age-group systems.There were shocks also. In 2019, he was banned for two years for age falsification.But gradually things started changing.Before making a place in the senior team, Prince got his first opportunity as a net bowler for Delhi. He made his first-class debut in 2024 and then performed brilliantly in the Vijay Hazare Trophy season, taking 18 wickets at an economy of 5.16. The demonstration attracted the attention of many people including Virat KohliWhom he met through Ishant Sharma.He finished as Delhi’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 wickets in his maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign.His performances in the Delhi Premier League, where he took 13 wickets in 10 matches, eventually earned him an IPL contract with Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 30 lakh.Prince played six matches in IPL 2025 before enjoying a strong 2026 season, taking 16 wickets in 13 matches. One of the standout moments came when he dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck with a sharp nip-backer.For Vashishtha, the India call-up felt extremely personal.Just imagine – an 18-year-old kid who has never touched a leather ball. It was extremely difficult. Most cricketers at that age have played half their cricket, but this kid worked incredibly hard. We worked on his stamina, bowling, training and many other aspects of the game,” he told TimesofIndia.com.He said, “I have seen his yorker balls making the nails of the batsmen’s joints bleed.”“I am very emotional today. Pradeep Sangwan was India material. He may be a 50 Test player, but things will not go in his favour. Today I am very happy, I am not able to control my emotions. My big dream has been ruined in front of my eyes. [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]Vashishtha said.