Prashant Veer’s Rs. 14.20 crore move to CSK will open up platforms for more players, says UPCA official Sajid Umar

As someone who has watched Prashant Veer evolve into the cricketer that he is now, Sajid Umar, an Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) official and the Saharanpur District Cricket Association (SDCA) Treasurer, said that the 20-year-old all-rounder, who hails from the village of Shahjipur, will inspire hope in other cricketers after having been snapped up by CSK for a record Rs. 14.20 crore in the IPL mini auction on Tuesday.

“He has opened up the platform for all the village players. They will now think: ‘If you continue doing the hard work, definitely a day will come when it’ll pay off,’” he said during chat on call.

Sajid further added that Prashant hails from an underprivileged family. Prashant’s father is a low-wage school teacher under the “Shiksha Mitra” scheme, his mother is a homemaker, and he has an elder sister and a younger brother. His family survives on the pension of his grandfather, a retired LIC agent.

In 2018, a Saharanpur-based coach, Rajiv Goyal, took Prashant under his wings after being impressed by his talent. SDCA Director Akram Saifi has also supported and nurtured him.

“He’s a same-to-same replacement for (Ravindra) Jadeja. He can bowl during any phase of an innings and is a good finisher. In fact, he’s known as the (David) Miller of Saharanpur,” said Sajid.