All-rounder Shashank Singh has severed ties with his home state Chhattisgarh and will represent Pondicherry in the 2026-27 domestic season. The Punjab Kings cricketer has accused the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) of failing to support him during his injury recovery.The 34-year-old has secured a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the CSCS and will join Pondicherry as a guest player, alongside Mumbai wicketkeeper-batter Prasad Pawar.Shashank alleged that he was left out of the 2026 Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League without any explanation and was subsequently overlooked for the state probables’ conditioning camp.“They didn’t have a proper explanation for why I was excluded from the Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League. They didn’t tell me why I wasn’t considered for the conditioning camp for the state probables,” Shashank told Cricinfo.The all-rounder said the decision to leave Chhattisgarh was not sudden and had been on his mind for some time. “This has been brewing for a while. I tried to engage in dialogue with the state association officials soon after the IPL season, but I didn’t receive any response.“I’m not saying you give me preferential treatment, but someone who won the BCCI award for the best domestic white-ball all-rounder at least deserves some clarity, not ridicule,” he added.In his seven-year stint with Chhattisgarh, Shashank played 24 First-Class matches, scoring 905 runs at an average of 29.19. In List A cricket, he amassed 927 runs in 31 games at an average of 40.30 and a strike rate of 111.95, besides claiming 35 wickets. He also featured in 42 T20s for the state, scoring 653 runs at a strike rate of 129.30 and taking 18 wickets.Story continues below this adShashank revealed that CSCS officials told him he was only interested in playing in the IPL and not for the state side.“I was told that I only want to play in the IPL, and not for Chhattisgarh in domestic cricket. The reality is that just last year (in Feb 2025), I was adjudged as India’s best all-rounder in the white-ball circuit by the BCCI, when I was named as the recipient of the prestigious Lala Amarnath Award for the Best All-Rounder in Domestic Limited Overs Competitions for the 2023-24 season,” Shashank told TOI.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.