Harvansh Singh Pangalia — son of a truck driver and fan of Yuvraj Singh — turns heads with stunning U-19 century

Harvansh Singh Pangalia turns heads with stunning U-19 century (PTI Photo)

In a match that was meant to be a warm-up, 18-year-old Harvansh Singh Pangalia delivered fireworks that made headlines. Batting at No. 9 for the India U-19 team, the wicketkeeper-batter from Gujarat’s remote town of Gandhidham smashed a whirlwind century, lighting up Loughborough with nine towering sixes.

The India U-19 team is currently on tour in England, preparing for a five-match Youth ODI and two Youth Test series beginning June 27. As part of their preparations, they took on an Invitational XI in a 50-over warm-up match. Early wickets saw India reeling at 91 for 5 by the 13th over, with top-order stars Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi — fresh off their IPL 2025 stints — failing to fire.

A recovery came courtesy of Kanishk Chouhan (79) and Rahul Kumar (73), who stitched together a 140-run stand. But the real twist came later, when Harvansh walked in at 251/7 in the 36th over.

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An Explosive Knock from No. 9

Harvansh, alongside RS Ambrish (72 off 47), added a blistering 126-run partnership. When Ambrish departed, Harvansh was still at 47, and he wasted no time bringing up his fifty with a boundary. What followed was a brutal assault in the final three overs: back-to-back sixes off Manny Lumsden in the 48th, another six off Matthew Firbank, and a final-over onslaught featuring a four and three consecutive sixes—bringing up his century off just 52 balls. His second fifty came off just 18 deliveries, as India finished with a staggering 442/9.

Who Is Harvansh Singh Pangalia?

Harvansh hails from Gandhidham, a modest town in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch region, where access to professional cricketing infrastructure was extremely limited during his early years. But he had a fierce determination — and a family that believed in his dream. His father, Damandeep Singh, moved to Canada in 2017 to support the family, working as a truck driver in Brampton.

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Despite the opportunity to relocate, Harvansh chose to stay back in India to pursue his cricketing ambitions. He found mentorship and support from his uncle, who gifted him a bowling machine — compensating for the lack of formal training facilities.

“Even Rajkot is 200 km away from our city. It was only in 2012 when the Saurashtra Cricket Association opened an academy here. I enrolled Harvansh in it when he was six. He picked up wicketkeeping from me — I used to keep wickets too,” Damandeep shared in an interview with the Times of India.

Interestingly, Harvansh is a natural right-hander but turned into a left-hander purely out of admiration for his idol, Yuvraj Singh. “He’s a massive Yuvraj fan and hasn’t even seen peak Yuvraj. But he was obsessed with the video of him hitting six sixes off Stuart Broad,” added Damandeep.

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A Rising Star to Watch

Harvansh also plays for the Saurashtra youth team and had earlier made headlines with a 117-run knock against Australia in 2023, which included seven fours and six sixes. But this knock in England, in foreign conditions and from the lower order, has further solidified his reputation as a match-winner in the making.

From a quiet town in Gujarat to a hundred at Loughborough, Harvansh’s journey is a testament to talent, grit, and the enduring power of dreams.