Manpreet Gony

Manpreet Gony, a quick impactful right-arm pacer who believed in hitting the deck hard to tease the opposition batsmen. Hailing from Roopnagar, Gony was a tearaway seamer and a lower-order who could smash the ball out of the park. However, the Roopnagar Express had a lot to offer on the world stage but ended up as a two-game wonder. 

The Roopnagar-born made his First-Class debut for Punjab in the 2007-08 season of the Ranji Trophy and ended the season to become his state’s go-to bowler in the debut season. He then was placed in the Vijay Hazare squad. After just one domestic season, Gony impressed various IPL scouts but was picked by Chennai Super Kings for the inaugural edition of the T20 extravaganza. The pacer contributed highly to CSK’s runner-up campaign and ended as his franchise’s highest wicket-taker. 

Post-IPL, the seamer was called to make his ODI debut during the Asia Cup held in Pakistan in 2008. Gony played two ODI during the multi-nation tournament and picked up two wickets against Bangladesh. Despite bowling some troublesome spells, the seamer didn’t get another opportunity to play an international match. 

In 2012, Gony set an exceptional record when he bowled three maidens in a Syed Mushtaq Ali game. The pacer was also Punjab’s highest wicket-taker in a couple of Ranji seasons but couldn’t replicate that in the shorter form. 

Although the Punjab-based seamer was a regular in the Indian Premier League during his prime. After his stints with Chennai, Deccan Chargers picked Gony up for a whopping sum of USD 290,000 for IPL 2011, before going to Punjab-based franchise in 2013, and then landed in Gujarat for the 2017 edition.

In 2019, Gony retired from Indian Cricket to play in the foreign leagues. Since then, the Roopnagar Express has played in the Global T20 Canada, Lanka Premier League, and the Road Safety World Series. 

(As of April 2021)