Fit-again pacer Gurjapneet turns heads with scintillating show

BENGALURU: From dismissing Cheteshwar Pujara for a duck to bowling to Virat Kohli at nets, Gurjapneet Singh’s career was ready to take off to the next level last year before a groin injury confined the left-arm pacer to the sidelines.

The injury also curtailed his IPL 2025 stint with Chennai Super Kings as it replaced him mid-season with Dewald Brevis.

But Gurjapneet has now started reconstructing his career gradually, evidenced by the eight wickets he grabbed in two innings for the South Zone in the ongoing Duleep Trophy here.

“I am just trying to do my best, always expecting to bowl at least 20 overs in a day and I have to manage my workload as well and giving my 100% on every ball, bowling in good channels consistently whether I am tired or not,” said Gurjapneet after third day’s play.

The effort and cricketing smarts were visible in the way he bowled against an aggressive Rajat Patidar.

Patidar was using the upper cut to good effect during his 115-ball 101, but Gurjapneet found a semblance of impatience in the Central Zone skipper’s batting.

“I tried to think…okay, he (Patidar) is always trying to connect the ball, always trying to play the ball, as he did not leave many balls. I was thinking that he does not have as much patience as Yash (Rathod) has.

“So, I thought we can charge him with a few good bouncers, I know some boundaries will come, but he will also swing, maybe an edge will be there or something else will happen.

“Then 2 to 3 overs I bowled bouncers to him and we kept a fielder on the deep square leg, fine leg for catching. I asked the captain (Mohammed Azharuddeen) for another over when he wanted to bring in a spinner, and the next ball he got out,” he explained.

But the Tamil Nadu pacer has not forgotten the struggles he has had with injuries, starting with a lower-back strain in 2022.

“I had a lower-back injury during that year’s TNPL. Coming back from injury is very tough as you need to maintain your strength as well and you will be lacking in so many other areas because your body is not the same as before. It takes longer to fall into the same rhythm.

“When I came back, I was struggling with the fitness, I was not able to bowl more overs, so slowly, day-by-day I did whatever is needed in tandem with the strength and conditioning coaches and physios and it helped me play in TNPL 2023 and it was a good season,” he added.

Gurjapneet picked in India ‘A’ squad

Opener Abhishek Sharma and pacer Gurjapneet Singh were on Sunday named in India A squad for the one-dayers against Australia A. Tilak Verma and Harshit Rana were also included in the squad for the final two matches by the BCCI senior selection panel.