A couple of days before their Asia Cup 2025 opener against India, Simranjeet Singh had reasonable doubts whether Shubman Gill would remember him.
Gill was, after all, only 12 when Simranjeet had bowled to him at the nets in Mohali, Punjab. The India Test captain and T20I vice captain took only three balls to put an end to Simranjeet’s worry during the India vs UAE Asia Cup Group A match in Dubai.
After hitting a boundary off the back foot on the third delivery of Simranjeet’s first over to finish the match, Gill straightaway walked towards the experienced cricketer, shook his hands, and hugged him. Quite expectedly, Simranjeet greeted Gill with a warm smile.
The two go back a long way. Gill was taking baby steps into professional cricket when Simranjeet, already aspiring to represent Punjab at the first-class level, took time off from his practice sessions to bowl at the teenager. Since then, life has gone in different directions for Simranjeet and Gill. After playing age-group cricket for Punjab, Gill took rapid strides.
He won the under-19 World Cup with India in 2018 and soon made his debut in all three formats at the international level. Simranjeet, on the other hand, never played first-class cricket for Punjab. He shifted to the UAE and could never return to India due to the second wave of over-19s.
“I had an offer to practice in Dubai and I had come here for 20 odd days in April, 2021. And then the massive second wave hit and there was another lockdown in India. I couldn’t go back for months and eventually ended up staying back,” Simranjeet told PTI.
To qualify to play for the UAE, Simranjeet needed to play three seasons of domestic cricket. Once he fulfilled the criteria, he contacted head coach Lalchand Rajput and requested a trial.
“From 2021, once I settled down in Dubai, I started earning decent money through coaching junior players. I was playing club cricket and coaching juniors. That way, I was able to run my household.
“Once I got into the UAE team, I got a central contract with Emirates Cricket Board and things are looking good,” he said.
On Wednesday, during the Asia Cup group A match between India and the UAE, Simranjeet met Gill after more than a decade. Kuldeep Yadav and Shivam Dube’s Magic with the ball ensured that their encounter was short but sweet nonetheless.
Shubman Gill and Simranjeet Singh’s reunion
The 35-year-old got his first opportunity to bowl at Gill at the international level in the 5th over of India’s 58-run chase. His first ball was driven to long off for a single. Suryakumar Yadav took another single off the second ball to put Gill back on strike. With India needing only two runs to win, Gill decided to finish the match with a boundary. He rocked back onto the back foot and pulled the good length delivery from Simranjeet straight down the ground for a boundary.
Kuldeep Yadav struck three times in one over with his left-arm wrist spin as India skittled the UAE for a paltry 57 in 13.1 overs after they elected to field first in the T20 in Dubai.
India romped home to victory in 4.3 overs after left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma hit 30 off 16 balls and vice-captain Shubman Gill stood unbeaten on 20.