Chennai Super Kings boosted their fast bowling with some Indian talents at the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah. The Super Kings already had Matheesha Pathirana as their lone quick ahead of the two-day bidding war and they roped in speedsters like Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Gurjapneet Singh and Khaleel Ahmed.
One name above which hardly a few people would know is that of Gurjapneet, a Tamil Nadu fast-bowler who has dismissed Indian legend Cheteshwar Pujara for a duck. The Super Kings roped in the uncapped seamer for a price of Rs 2.20 crore after winning the bids from Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.
Know about CSK's tall speedster Gurjapneet Singh, who has bowled to Virat Kohli
Gurjapneet is a 6'3" tall left-arm speedster. Born in Ludhiana and grew up in Ambala, the pacer had moved to Chennai after advice from his coach Anil Mashi. He shifted his base to the Tamil Nadu city in 2017 and has now starred in the ongoing season of the Ranji Trophy after a much-awaited debut.
On his debut against the champions Saurashtra, Gurjapneet registered figures of 6/22 in his 14 overs in the second innings and won the Player of the Match in the Ranji Trophy clash. The left-arm speedster dismissed Indian batting icon Cheteshwar Pujara for a duck, trapping him LBW in the second innings.
He has also bowled in the nets to another legend Virat Kohli in the nets ahead of India's first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh in Chennai. The speedster opened up on the advice he received from Kohli and also on his journey.
"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."
He played in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2021 for R Ashwin's Dindigul Dragons and worked with another Tamil Nadu speedster Yo Mahesh. "It was my first season in the TNPL and Yomi [Yo Mahesh] taught me small points and in the nets, he helped me bowl yorkers and slower ones and mix it up. He kept telling me to work on my strengths and trust it when I bowl. T20 cricket is a bit different from red-ball cricket and you have to execute all the plans and bowl according to the fields set. So, my mindset was getting better day by day and I was learning so much with Yomi and Ashwin anna," he added in the interview to the website.
Gurjapneet was called in by Chennai Super Kings as a net bowler and impressed the think tank there too. He had even bowled to MS Dhoni in the nets. "When you bowl to top-class batsmen, you keep learning and you know where you stand. At CSK, it's very difficult to bowl to someone like Dhoni, especially in death overs. Because if you make any mistake and don't execute yorkers, you will be punished. So, you will have to build your mindset as well [to bowl at the death] and make sure you don't get nervous at that time. If you get hit also, you learn about how to come back and improve your skills.
"Sometimes, when you get nervous you don't get any option to think about what's next and you don't choose the right option under pressure. So, your mind should be clear as to what to bowl the next ball after being hit. So, even after getting hit for a six, I try to come back with my strength: slower one or yorker," he added.
Now he would be eager to get a game and impress the CSK management and make a name in the Indian Premier League.
