Kunwarjeet Singh: The other boy in Shubman Gill's backyard nets

In viral reels featuring Shubman Gill, the Indian captain is seen inching his Mercedes-AMG through crowds of paparazzi and fans. Sitting beside him, largely unnoticed, is a companion. It was similar at Ahmedabad airport after the IPL final—as Gill was mobbed, walking alongside him through the chaos was the same companion, unrecognizable despite sharing much of Gill's cricketing journey.

Growing up in Punjab, Kunwarjeet Singh and Gill were inseparable. Born in California before his family relocated to Punjab when he was nine, Kunwarjeet spent his formative years chasing the same dream as his childhood friend. Their days began before sunrise. By 7am, they were in the backyard nets at Kunwarjeet's house, batting 500 balls each in sessions stretching nearly three hours. After breakfast and brief rest, they returned for another evening session of 200 deliveries. This relentless cycle continued for years.

The routines and sacrifices were near identical. The outcomes were poles apart. While Gill represented India before turning 20, Kunwarjeet could not break into Punjab's Under-19 side.

"Cricket gives everyone something, but it never gave him anything in India," says Agni Dev Chopra, Kunwarjeet's MI New York teammate and another member of Gill's inner circle.

One look at Kunwarjeet play reveals the elegance in his strokeplay—the minimal fuss, compact technique, high elbows, textbook side-on stance. But Indian age-group cricket deals in only one currency: hundreds. Kunwarjeet was often a "net batsman," looking like a million dollars in practice but flattering to deceive in matches after promising starts in the 30s and 40s.

Despite failing to represent Punjab at any age-group level through Under-19s, he doubled down. He dropped out of college pursuing an elusive breakthrough.

"I never saw myself doing something else. Even after failures, I thought maybe this isn't for me, but I couldn't stay away from the game. The value system instilled by my mentor Khushpreet Aulukh made me believe if I kept working hard, eventually I would get a big break," says Kunwarjeet.

An injury to Nehal Wadhera opened the door for Kunwarjeet in Punjab's Under-23 side. After seven years of rejection, receiving the Punjab Cricket Association kit felt like a landmark moment. Overwhelmed, he recorded a video and sent it to his family.

As he dreamed of a Ranji Trophy debut, the BCCI introduced a rule preventing non-Indian citizens from playing domestic cricket. Former USA chief selector Sunny Sohal called, asking him to try his luck in the country of his birth with Major League Cricket.

An unbeaten match-winning seventy in the USA Cricket National 50-over Championship final pushed him into reckoning. He followed with a masterful 95 in Minor League Cricket. MI New York took a punt on him.

"That was the first time I saw my father cry happily," Kunwarjeet recalls. "The first time I saw him hug me and cry with tears of joy." His father had driven behind him while timing his daily five-kilometer runs with pads on, and sold his gas station and liquor store to support his son's cricketing ambitions.

Kunwarjeet spent much of MI New York's title-winning campaign on the bench. But when his opportunity arrived in the final—only his second MLC innings—he struck an unbeaten 22 off 13 deliveries, an innings that proved decisive in the franchise's title triumph.

MI New York head coach Mark Boucher noticed his qualities. "Coach Boucher applauded my attitude. He gave me an MI badge after the final and told me my positive attitude brought that innings out of me," says Kunwarjeet.

When Kunwarjeet returned home and showed the winner's medal to his mother, she kissed it and proudly wore it around her neck. For a family that had waited nearly two decades for cricket to give something back, it was a moment long overdue.