Prince of Najafgarh skips Delhi Police exam to chase IPL dream
A few years back, Najafgarh-based Railway Protection Force’s ASI Ram Niwas Yadav was extremely worried about the future of his youngest son Prince Yadav, who was only interested in bowling yorkers at tennis ball tournaments.
However, the youngster was unruffled and told his father straight up, “Papa aap mera chinta karna chhod dijiye. Main apne se kuch kar loonga (Dad stop worrying about me. I would manage something on my own).”
Cut to 2026 and the seemingly nonchalant boy has managed to come good on the promise.
The Lucknow Super Giants swing sensation has already breached the defences of experienced India internationals such as Axar Patel and Ishan Kishan in successive IPL games.
“Any father would be worried about the future of his kids and so was I. Till the age of 18, he had not even bowled once with the leather ball.
I literally forced him to appear for the Delhi Police’s Constables’ Exam and he was fit enough to clear the physical round. “But he wasn’t well prepared for written test because his mind was elsewhere,” recalled Ram Niwas.
But like most doting fathers, he too had no other option but to back his audacious boy.
“Bete ki zid hai aur humein pura karna thaa. Ek ASI ke salary mein aur kitna hi ho pata hai (It was his passion so I had to believe in him. (But) how much can you manage with an ASI’s salary?).
But I am happy that I allowed him to fly on his own,” said Ram Niwas, who now has people from nearby Kheda Dabar village in Najafgarh’s Dariyapur thronging his house thanks to Prince’s IPL exploits.
“After Ishan Kishan’s dismissal (LSG vs SRH game), a lot of our neighbours came and told me that ‘Usne iss dehat (rural area) ka naam roushan kar diya’ (People have come up to tell me that he has brought fame to this hamlet).
“Pahle humare is ilaake ko log isliye jaante thee kyonki poorv president sahibaa (Pratibha Patil) aaye the Chaudhary Bramprakash Ayurvedic Sansthan ke udgathan pe (2012).
Ab cricket ke liye famous ho gaya (earlier peo[ple knew us because of a visit by former President Pratibha Patil.
Now it is famous for cricket),” the pride in Ram Niwas’ voice was unmissable. According to Ram Niwas, Prince’s first and only coach till date, Amit Vashistha and former India U-19 World Cup winning pacer Pradeep Sangwan, played the biggest role in shaping Prince.
