Didn’t Have the Courage To…: India’s Newest Pace Star Shares How He Upset Virat Kohli

From making Virat Kohli “angry” in the nets to dismissing Cheteshwar Pujara in a key Ranji Trophy match, Tamil Nadu pacer Gurjapneet Singh has quickly caught the attention of Indian cricket fans. Born and raised in Ambala, Gurjapneet initially struggled to break into the Punjab age-group teams before moving to Chennai in search of better opportunities. After facing several challenges, he is now making a name for himself by winning matches for his adopted state, Tamil Nadu. The 25-year-old took a six-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu secure a win against Saurashtra in their Elite Group D match on Monday.

His impressive figures of 14-5-22-6 included the important wickets of veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson.

For those unaware, Gurjapneet recently served as one of the net bowlers for India’s two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

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During a recent interview, Gurjapneet shared how he bowled Kohli in the nets, which left the star batsman quite frustrated.

“After I got him out, I looked at him and didn’t dare to look again. He was really, really angry. But I realized he was more upset with himself than anything else. After hitting a straight drive, he looked at me and smiled,” Gurjapneet told the Indian Express.

Gurjapneet also spoke about the advice Kohli gave him, which later helped him outsmart the Saurashtra batters.

“Kohli told me that when there’s no movement, try changing the angle and bowling around the wicket. With that angle, even slight movement can trouble most batsmen,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Kohli is set to return to action on Wednesday when India takes on New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru.

The young pacer also discussed how he planned Pujara’s dismissal, describing the experienced batsman as a “legend.”

“When you’re bowling to a legend like him, you have to be precise from the start. The plan was to force him onto the backfoot, then deliver a good front-foot ball to unsettle him. After going wicketless in the first innings, Bala bhai (L Balaji) encouraged me to focus on getting a breakthrough, as there was a risk of straying from the plan. Given the pitch offered little assistance, bowling from around the stumps was the best approach, as we saw (Jaydev) Unadkat do successfully in the morning session,” Gurjapneet added.

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