IPL’s Lost talent! Manpreet Gony: MS Dhoni’s shining star who lost his glitter

Since the inception of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, there have been quite a few players whose name were unheard but their strong performances in the tournament brought them in limelight, turning them overnight stars. The tournament has seen many players who shine in one match but later get faded away as the new amazing talents take over. And such was MS Gony. Well, it’s not a spelling mistake, as MS Gony actually stands for Manpreet Singh Gony and not MS Dhoni.

The tall pacer from Punjab Gony was among the domestic players who found stardom during the IPL. He was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the first two seasons (2008-09) and his bowling performance brought him to media limelight. Gony started off amazingly with 17 wickets in 16 matches at a decent economy of 7.38. But later, his performance started declining and in the next few years of IPL, he managed to take 20 off 27 games. In the same year in 2008, Gony also got to play for India national team in the Tri-nation series in Bangladesh replacing Sreesanth but couldn’t make much of the chance and failed to make an impact.

After ending his stint with CSK, Gony then represented Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab. Interestingly, in 2012, Gony became the first player ever in history to bowl three maidens in a top-level T20 match. Gony created this record for his home side Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in quarter-final helping his team to win against Madhya Pradesh. Gony was also embroiled in a divorce suit with his wife after which he went to the US, giving up on his cricket career where he played matches on the weekends to earn living. However, he always felt he could do much better in India.

Gony, from 2009-13, featured in 27 IPL games and only managed to take 20 wickets. In 2017, he was bought by Gujarat Lions for Rs 60 lakh. But now, after losing his way in cricket and facing trouble on the personal front, Gony is now eyeing to come back from his anonymity and joining the broken pieces.