Harpreet Singh, unsold in IPL 2017 auction due to mistaken identity, signs for RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have signed Harpreet Singh as a replacement for the injured Sarfaraz Khan for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017.

Khan had suffered a leg injury in a practice game during the buildup to the competition but management refused to rule him out of action.

However, with the 19-year-old batsman not featuring in any of the six games so far, RCB have gone on to sign all-rounder Singh as his replacement for the rest of the campaign.

Singh was notably unsold during the Indian Premier League auction in February amid a bizarre case of a mistaken identity. The 25-year-old was mistaken for Harmeet Singh, another cricketer who had been arrested for driving his car on the platform of a railway station in Andheri, Mumbai.

Harpreet, who revealed he was mentally disturbed after the false reports, initially believed the whole incident cost him a spot in the IPL. The Madhya Pradesh native has now said he is looking forward to playing with RCB.

"Initially when I wasn't picked in the auction I was a little upset because I thought I would make it considering I was the highest run getter in the domestic T20 event," Singh told CricBuzz. "There was no clarity on whether I wasn't picked because of the confusion in names or some other reason, so that bothered me a little."

"I never gave up hope and kept working hard because I believed I may get my chances during the course of the tournament. I was thrilled when I got the RCB call-up 2-3 days ago.

"At RCB, I'm looking forward to interacting with the current international stars and watching them from close quarters. It is going to be a great learning experience for me and I'm looking forward to this new beginning."

RCB play the Kolkata Knight Riders next on 23 April, having last won just their second game in the competition so far against the Gujarat Lions where Chris Gayle reached the 10,000th Twenty20 run landmark.