Simarjeet Singh - still trying to stay fit, still trying to find that elusive consistency

Simarjeet Singh's eyes still light up when he is reminded of the time he got to wear the India blue and spend time in the national team's dressing room. He didn't get a chance to make his international debut on that Sri Lanka tour during Covid-19, in June 2021, after moving up from being a net bowler to the main squad, but it suggested a rise through the ranks for a bowler who has struggled with injuries and lack of consistency throughout his career.

"I was not making too many mistakes, but I was trying to do things too quickly," Simarjeet, familiar to cricket-watchers for his time in Chennai Super Kings' yellow, tells ESPNcricinfo. "I was also changing my plans constantly. I always used to think that my process must be perfect, but nothing in this world is perfect. [Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat] Cummins also told me the same thing, to focus on giving my best and not think about perfection. So now I focus more on how I can improve."

Except for a few stray games in the IPL where he did decently - 11 wickets in 14 games with a best of 3 for 26 and an overall economy rate of 10.00 - 27-year-old Simarjeet's story has been one of struggle, even to make the Delhi team in the domestic circuit. In the last seven seasons, he has played only 15 first-class, 23 List A, and 39 T20 matches, in which he has taken 46, 23, and 44 wickets respectively.

At the IPL, though, with the teams looking for Indian bowlers to fill their sides with, Simarjeet has been around, for three seasons now - 2022, 2024 and 2025 - first with Mumbai Indians, then with CSK, and most recently with SRH, where the interactions with Cummins happened.

"It feels surreal just to think that you have played with a world-class bowler like Cummins. As a fast bowler, if your captain is also a fast bowler, then he not only backs you but also teaches you many things by giving you new ideas," Simarjeet says. "Apart from that, Cummins is a big name and playing with him makes me feel very lucky.

"Though I did not get too many chances there, and when I got them, I could not perform that well, I always thought about what new things I could do at training. I also used to ask [head coach Daniel] Vettori and [bowling coach James] Franklin how to improve myself. They talked about different bowling plans and stressed on how I could implement those plans better on the field. Even after the IPL, I am continuously working on them.

"And [Mohammed] Shami bhai did not just talk, he taught by showing us. He used to tell me 'today we will focus on yorkers', or sometimes slower bouncers, or some other variations. Then when I bowled, he himself used to stand there and tell me what I was doing right and what could be improved. Cummins also did the same. With both, there were continuous talks about action, speed, and other aspects of bowling."

It's a career that has also been blighted by injury. He missed the entire 2022-23 domestic season and continued to struggle till IPL 2024.

"I have had so many injuries that I don't even remember how many," he says. "I just remember that each time it was a different injury. I never really got injured while bowling. But sometimes it happened while batting during practice or while standing somewhere and a shot from another batter hit me. Sometimes it also happened that I slipped on the field and got a serious injury.

"It was disappointing, and I was also losing opportunities, I was losing consistency. But what can you do? Sometimes, I just laughed thinking about my injuries. But after that, I became very disciplined and started following a regular routine, which had details like how much gym I had to do, when to run, how to bowl, everything. When you follow that, you get results."

It was at the Delhi Premier League recently that Simarjeet put all those lessons to good use, picking up 20 wickets (the joint-highest) in 11 matches and an economy rate of 10.00 with a best of 5 for 23 as his team Central Delhi Kings finished runners-up. Now he has one more shot to impress, if he gets the chance, in the first one-dayer for India A against Australia A, in the hope that he finds that elusive consistency to claw his way back up the ladder.