UAE Bowler's Path From Punjab Nets to Asia Cup Clash: Simranjeet Singh to Face Shubman Gill Alternatively: From PCA Nets to Asia Cup Showdown: UAE's Simranjeet Singh Set to Bowl to India's Shubman Gill

For Simranjeet Singh, the Asia Cup 2025 clash against India is more than just another international fixture. It is a moment for him to back to his roots. The 35-year-old slow left-arm orthodox spinner from Ludhiana vividly recalls bowling to a young Shubman Gill more than a decade ago at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) nets in Mohali.

“I have known Shubman since he was a kid, but I don’t know if he remembers me,” Simranjeet said in an interview with PTI. “It was around 2011-12. He must have been 11 or 12 at the time. We trained at the PCA Academy from 6am to 11am and Shubman would arrive with his father right after. I often stayed back for extra bowling, and that’s when I bowled a lot to him.”

Life has since taken Simranjeet on an unlikely journey. A regular in Punjab’s district cricket, he made the Ranji Trophy probables in 2017 and bowled at Kings XI Punjab’s nets. But a breakthrough never came. Then the COVID-19 pandemic altered his path.

“I came to Dubai in April 2021 for about 20 days of practice, but when the second wave hit India, I couldn’t return. I ended up staying back,” he explained. He began coaching juniors while playing club cricket to sustain himself. Once he fulfilled the three-season domestic requirement to qualify for the UAE, he reached out to national coach Lalchand Rajput.

Rajput describes him as a 'crafty' bowler. “Not every left-arm spinner in T20Is has the heart to give the ball air and flight it consistently. Simran knows how to buy wickets with flight.” In 12 T20Is so far, he has picked up 15 wickets with an economy rate under six. In his last game, he returned figures of 1/24 against Afghanistan, bowling 11 dot balls.

A devout Sikh, Simranjeet says UAE has given him the freedom to practise his faith. “This is a great country. No one has ever questioned my beard, kara or kirpan,” he noted.

As for his family’s allegiance when UAE face India, he laughed: “That’s a tough one. The dream was to play for India, but now that I’m playing for UAE, I think they’ll support UAE.”

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