The IPL has been a fertile ground to find young Indian talent. This season has seen a few who impressed with sheer pace. Although he may have bowled only in three games, Simrajeet Singh is looking like a potential big-buy next season from the small pool of tear-away fast bowlers.
The hustler from Delhi proved his worth when Chennai Super Kings needed him. Three first-choice pacers — Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman — were unavailable against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala. Someone’s loss turned out to be another’s gain. Simarjeet got his first chance and boy, did he take the opportunity with both hands!
Coming to bowl in the middle overs, Simarjeet dismissed Jitesh Sharma. It was a length ball, but the batter was undone by the extra pace. Ashutosh Sharma, who had a great season with the bat, was hit on the body twice. Again, that extra pace was making batters uncomfortable. Although Harshal Patel hit Simrajeet for a six and a four, the bowler had the last laugh and finished with 2/16. In the next game, he was thrashed by Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan in Ahmedabad, conceding 60 runs. The 26-year-old must have learnt quickly what ‘this game is a great leveller’ meant.
After that horrible outing, there was pressure on the fast bowler known as ‘Simar’ to his teammates. Rajasthan Royals was a must-win game for CSK. In the heat of Chennai and in front of a sea of yellow in the stands, Simar delivered express pace. He hit the good length hard and reaped the rewards. It was the same method employed against PBKS.
Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to pull, but because of the extra bounce that Simarjeet gets, could only balloon it in the air. Buttler saw him bowling that particular length and tried to scoop. On that occasion, he bowled it a bit fuller and Buttler could only find the fielder at fine-leg. The biggest of his three victims was Sanju Samson. The RR skipper was deep inside his crease, expecting a length ball or a short ball, but Simarjeet bluffed him with another full one. Sanju couldn’t get the elevation and found the mid-off fielder. Simarjeet had crippled RR’s top order, which was setting up big totals this year. Later on, he might have found a bit of reverse swing as well.
“It felt as though the ball was stopping a bit. So, I was trying to bowl towards myself rather than up to the batter,” said Simarjeet after his match-defining effort, which took CSK closer to the playoffs.
In Ahmedabad, Simarjeet went for plenty. Within a day, he was a changed bowler. The key to this turnaround? Utilising variations effectively. Employing a mix of pace, along with a precise line and length, Simarjeet emerged as CSK’s standout bowler. Across three appearances this season, Simarjeet has taken five crucial wickets, focusing primarily on delivering back-of-length deliveries. He has maintained a low economy rate of 6.5. The significant improvement compared to the 2022 season is the additional pace he has incorporated.
His average speed has increased by 2 kmph, and he has been rewarded for his commitment to consistently delivering the ball in the good-length region. Employing this strategy, he has not only conceded at a rate of just 7.9 per over during the middle overs, but has taken all his wickets in this phase in the ongoing season. It seems CSK have found their enforcer with the ball for that critical stage of the game.