Left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh signaled his arrival in the Indian domestic cricket when he made an instant impact for Tamil Nadu in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy. Reporting with maximum 6 wickets taking bowling analysis of 6 for 21 against Saurashtra while giving a mammoth innings and 70 victory to Tamil Nadu which included seven valuable points.
Arguably, the young 25-year-old pace bowler was instrumental in the dismissal of the Saurashtra team for just 94 runs in the second essay. The turning point in the match arrived when Gurjapneet cleaned up the valuable Cheteshwar Pujara on a body blow on the first delivery. His early aggression led the way for the next four days, Tamil Nadu’s first innings advantage in mind.
This fantastic performance of Gurjapneet has been the result of dedication and perseverance she has made throughout her floor. What followed was a dramatic breakthrough when during India’s preliminary camp for the Bangladesh Test series a month before his Ranji Trophy gambit, he emerged as a potential star. On a net session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the pacer got one of Kohli’s wickets with a stunning delivery that dismissed by Virat Kohli. While he didn’t do this, the moment brought a nasty glare from the Indian skipper, Kohli. What ensued was quite a contest in the boundaries with Kohli replying but the pacer again stood firm that was scary. In general, Kohli gave him some words of advice during the end of the session which were important to Gurjapneet’s build of confidence with regards to the particular session.
Gurjapneet on his debut, took a devastating spell on the second day and cut off Saurashtra’s mainstay players like Arpit Vasavada and Dharmendra Jadeja. Filled with substantial movement and commendable line and lengths in his bowling, Tamil Nadu made an authoritative beginning to the season.
Gurjapneet has risen through the ranks and his focus is evident – he is from Punjab. He has the potential to produce match winning instances of bowling under pressure which will surely mark him as a prospective cricketer in the future. Tamil Nadu all out domination, coupled with the young seamer’s brilliance heralds a new journey of triumph for the side, as well as the bowler.
By this dream debut, Gurjapneet has not only enabled Tamil Nadu to jump ahead in the tournament but also certainly ushered himself in as one of the important pegs in Indian domestic cricket.
