Ravi Singh, Railways’ hard-hitting willow-wielder, is quite new to the rigours of First Class cricket.

The 25-year-old — who has a penchant for striking big in the shorter formats — hasn’t taken long to adjust to the longest discipline, averaging a creditable 58.2 after seven Ranji Trophy innings. Ravi, who works as a ticket collector in Howrah, had to bide his time before finding his place in the Railways team.

He shifted from Varanasi to Lucknow to hone his skills under coach Saurabh Dubey, though he couldn’t quite break into the senior Uttar Pradesh set-up. But once he landed a Railways job, Ravi’s career finally stoked some steam.

“After playing well for the under-23 side, I was called to the National Cricket Academy [now Centre of Excellence]. The Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare tournaments went quite well for me. Some of those matches were broadcast and the selectors at a higher level watched them. I was called for IPL trials, and, after seven or eight years of not playing anything [significant], things suddenly started falling my way,” Ravi said at the MAC Stadium on Saturday, two days ahead of the Ranji game against Tamil Nadu.

Ravi was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for ₹95 lakh in the IPL 2026 auction. Whether it be being mentally prepared to face the wrath of Jofra Archer in the nets or learning the skill sets required to succeed at the highest level, he never backed down.

“Before facing Archer for the first time, I kept thinking ‘he’s such a renowned bowler and bowls so fast’. But by the time I went to bat, I was ready for the first ball and had correctly anticipated it was going to be a fast bouncer.

“I am quite close to Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Since they have been consistently playing high-level cricket, I try to understand how they deliver strong performances in tough conditions. That way, I will know how to navigate them.”

While his first IPL season was cut short due to an injury after just one game, Ravi remains a vital cog in Railways’ wheels. The journey, however, has just started for the ticket collector.