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At the age of 25 and 6’3″, Gurjapneet stands as one of the most promising pacers coming through the ranks of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Team.
Gurjapneet Singh in action for the Tamil Nadu Cricket Team (X)
Chennai Super Kings invested in Tamil Nadu pacer Gurjapneet Singh, bringing him to the Anbu-Den for Rs 2.2 crore at the IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). But who exactly is he?
Born in Ludhiana (Punjab) and brought up in Ambala (Haryana), Gurjapneet moved to Chennai at around the age of 17, after having enrolled himself in Guru Nanak College, a home base for India Cements’ league teams.
Now, at the age of 25 and 6’3″, he stands as one of the most promising pacers coming through the ranks of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Team, after making his mark with a blistering debut in the Ranji Trophy this past October where he scalped none other than the modern wall of Indian cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara, for a duck.
Gurjapneet Singh rattled Saurashtra on his Ranji debut with a blistering spell that saw the Tamil Nadu pacer remove the likes of Arpit Vasavada and Dharmendra Jadeja to return with figures of 6/22, leading TN to a a thumping innings and 70 run-win over Saurashtra.
But Gurjapneet’s road to success against Pujara and Saurashtra could be traced back to a month prior to his debut – when he infuriated Virat Kohli by casting him in the nets ahead of India’s first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.
“When I spoke to Kohli, he gave me some points, which gave me more confidence,” Gurjapneet told ESPNcricinfo.
“I was mentally prepared to bowl to Pujara, who is a legend in red-ball cricket in India. Against right-handers, he [Kohli] suggested me to come around the stumps also and told I can keep changing the angles to make it uncomfortable for the batsmen. I came around the stumps to Pujara first ball and with that angle I got him LBW. If I bowl over the stumps, there is less chance of getting LBW.”
Having spotted Gurjapneet’s knack for sharp clinical bowling, CSK brought him in as their net bowler, where the franchise tested the pacer’s skillset in end-over scenarios against the likes of ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni himself as well.
Now, the young Sikh gun will join the likes of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel Ahmed as CSK gears up to roar in the upcoming IPL 2025 season.
