“If I don’t see you smiling, I will stop speaking with you” - Shashank Singh on Jonny Bairstow's encouragement after a duck in PBKS' IPL 2024 opener

Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Shashank Singh opened up on the heartwarming gesture of Jonny Bairstow after he was dismissed for a duck in their IPL 2024 opener. PBKS played their first game of this season against the Delhi Capitals on March 23 in Mullanpur.

In that game, the Capitals batted first and scored a formidable total of 174 on the board, with contributions from Shai Hope (33) and Abishek Porel (32*).

In the second innings, Bairstow (9) was dismissed early, but Shikhar Dhawan (22) and Prabhsimran Singh (26) were impressive to keep the team in good stead. Then, Sam Curran unleashed his hitting prowess to slam 63 off 47 balls.

Coming in at No. 7, Shashank Singh was dismissed for a golden duck, as he failed to make a good connection to Khaleel Ahmed's short ball, and his edge was caught by keeper Rishabh Pant.

Nevertheless, Liam Livingstone held his nerves to score 38* off 17, as the Kings sealed the chase with four balls to spare.

After the game, Jonny Bairstow provided encouragement to Shashank, who was disappointed to not make his chance count and win the game for PBKS.

In an interview with Sportstar, Shashank Singh said:

“I got a duck in our season opener (against Delhi Capitals on March 23), was sitting dejected in the dug-out, and suddenly Jonny tapped me from behind and said, ‘If I don’t see you smiling, I will stop speaking with you’. I have kept it in mind ever since.”

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Shashank Singh is PBKS' top batter in IPL 2024

The middle-order batter certainly made a major turnaround to become the highest run-scorer for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. He has amassed 315 runs in 11 innings at a prolific average of 63 and a strike rate of 165.78.

Shashank Singh's best knock came against the Kolkata Knight Riders, when he smashed 68* off 28 balls and added an unbeaten 84-run stand with Jonny Bairstow to seal the highest-ever T20 chase of 262.