Punjab Kings cricketer says 'IPL ke 2.5 mahine hi fame milta hai', read Sachin Tendulkar's compliment '1000 times'

One of the biggest struggles for modern-day cricketers has been handling social media, which includes adjusting to instant fame and tackling trollers. While most opted to go off the radar on these websites and keep their focus on their career, Punjab Kings cricketer Shashank Singh admitted tracking Instagram during the months of IPL has been important for him, before recalling a tweet from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar about him, which he had read "1000 times."

Speaking on Punjab Kings' YouTube channel, their latest show, 'Kandid with Kings', Shashank revealed that these two and a half months of IPL are the only time for him to shoot to fame and stay in conversations among social media users. Hence, he keeps track of the number of followers he now has on Instagram and the messages he receives. However, Shashank, who the Kings retained for INR 5.5 crore after a stunning show last year, where he scored 354 runs at a strike rate of 164.65, added that after team captain Shreyas Iyer advised him to stay away from social media, he has set a timer on his screen time and has been trying to stick to it.

"If you had asked me this question three years back, I would have said that I first go to Insta to check how many followers I have, but with time, I realised that if I keep doing that, I won't be able to sustain my cricketing career. I mean, previously, I used to track my Insta followers, but now I keep looking at Insta messages as well just to see if I'm trending right now. IPL ke 2.5 mahine hi fame milta hai (This is very important for me because my entire fate depends on these two and a half months of IPL). So it feels good. But I've been trying to limit my screen time. I had a word with Shreyas Iyer a few days back over breakfast, and he told me that he himself had been away from Instagram for a long time, and I saw the changes. In fact, I did set the time limit of 45 minutes, but I keep pressing the 'Later' option when it pops up," he said.

'I read Sachin's tweet 1000 times'

In 2022, Shashank, then playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, had taken a brilliant catch near the boundary ropes to dismiss KKR batter Ajinkya Rahane. The effort had left Sachin in absolute awe as he took to social media to tweet: "Catching on the boundary line keeps getting better and better. Outstanding catch by @shashank2191!" Recalling that tweet, Shashank said he had read it "1000 times" and even put it in WhatsApp for everyone to see.

"If former cricketers whom I follow say something good, it obviously reflects in the social media feed. And that does feel good. Sachin Tendulkar posted a tweet once after I took a catch for a different franchise back then. He tagged me in the tweet, and I read it 1000 times. I put it on WhatsApp for everyone to see," he added.