Gurkeerat’s talents as an offspinner and a quick-scoring batter were first noticed in 2011, when he was part of the Punjab Under-22 side that won the CK Nayudu Trophy. Steady performances from there on took him towards an India call-up. By 2015, he was making the ‘A’ team and played a crucial part in winning a tri-series final against Australia A. Gurkeerat took that form and confidence into that season’s Ranji Trophy and when he scored a double-hundred and followed that up with a nine-wicket haul, his step up was complete.
Gurkeerat was picked in India’s Test squad for the home series against South Africa in November – but he did not play – and at the start of 2016, he toured Australia with India’s limited-overs squad and made his ODI debut in Melbourne.
Gurkeerat faced 13 balls as a batter and bowled 60 balls as a bowler in international cricket – all in ODIs. He has been involved in the IPL playing for his hometown franchise, Kings XI Punjab as they were known then, and for Royal Challengers Bangalore as well. He was Punjab’s highest run-scorer in the 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy with a tally of 251 from three innings but since then, he has only played for his state in four games across formats.