Who is Gurjapneet Singh? 5 interesting facts about CSK's newest signing at IPL 2025 auction

Chennai Super Kings secured the services of Gurjapneet Singh in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. The five-time champions shelled out ₹2.2 crore to purchase the left-arm pacer.

Interestingly, Gurjapneet made his first-class debut earlier this year but has been an impressive performer in T20s. He has bagged 29 wickets in 24 appearances in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).

Lucknow Super Giants chose to open the bidding at ₹30 lakh and CSK came straightaway. After the Super Giants left the bidding war, Gujarat Titans raised their paddle but CSK managed to buy the skillful pacer.

On that note, let's take a look at the five interesting facts about CSK's newest signing, Gurjapneet Singh.

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#1 Moved to Chennai at 17

Born in Ludhiana and raised in Ambala, Gurjapneet Singh did not make it to the age-group teams in the Punjab state. On the advice of his coach Anil Mashi, Gurjapneet then shifted to Chennai at the age of 17.

The left-armer enrolled himself at the Guru Nanak College, which also serves as home to the India Cements' (CSK owners) league teams. After an impressive performance for the college, he made an entry into the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2021.

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#2 Served as a net bowler for CSK in 2021

The 26-year-old took seven wickets in nine games in TNPL 2021 and displayed his ability to bowl yorkers and deceive batters with his slower balls. As a result, he served as a net bowler for the Chennai Super Kings possibly in the latter half of the 2021 season.

Here's what said about his time with CSK (via ESPNcricinfo):

"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."

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#3 Made a riveting comeback in TNPL 2023 after recovering from back injury

Just when the talented pacer was looking to break into the state side, he sustained a lower-back injury, which kept him out of action for almost the entire 2022 domestic season.

However, Gurjapneet Singh made a strong comeback in the TNPL 2023. He scalped 15 wickets in eight games for Siechem Madurai Panthers and helped the side qualify for the playoffs.

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#4 Bowled Virat Kohli in practice session ahead of India-Bangladesh test series

The Indian team played the opening fixture of the two-match series against Bangladesh in Chennai earlier this year. Ahead of the game, Gurjapneet Singh served as a net bowler for the Indian batters.

Interestingly, he bowled to legendary Virat Kohli during a practice session, which left the 36-year-old fuming. Here's what Gurjapneet told The Indian Express in an interview:

“After I bowled him (Kohli), I looked at him and didn’t dare to look at him again. He was very, very angry. But I realized, he was angry with himself more than anything. And after a straight drive, he again looked at me and smiled.”

However, Kohli also offered the pacer advice on how he could extract movement off the surface by changing the angle, which could trouble the batters.

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#5 Claimed best figures by a TN bowler in first-class since 2005-06

The 6-foot-3 tall pacer made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu against Saurashtra in October 2024. After going wicketless in the first innings, he emerged as the wrecker-in-chief for the side in the second innings.

Gurjapneet Singh rattled the opposition batters to finish with figures of 6/22 and helped TN to win by an innings and 70 runs. Interestingly, one of his dismissals was Cheteshwara Pujara, who was outfoxed with his good-length delivery and was trapped LBW for a duck.