Gurnoor Brar: The Young Indian Pacer Exciting Cricket Fans

Gurnoor Brar

LUCKNOW: One of the riveting sights in cricket is to see a fast bowler run in, unleash the ball at great speed and hustle the batsman with his pace. That’s why Gurnoor Brar has got Indian cricket excited. The 26-year-old was recently rewarded with six Afghanistan wickets in two ODIs in vastly different conditions — Dharamshala and Lucknow. More than the wickets, it was his ability to hit the deck hard by bowling over 140 kmph consistently that caught the eye. “I believe in myself and whatever I am doing, whether it is bowling the hard length or the fast-paced ball. The results don’t matter. For me, preparation matters,” the Punjab pacer said after claiming 3/60 in the second ODI here. Some Indian quickies in recent times have grabbed the limelight with bursts of speed in the IPL before fading into oblivion, but Brar seems to break the mold. His IPL appearances have been sporadic and he is yet to get a game with Gujarat Titans despite spending two seasons with the franchise. However, he seems to have taken it in his stride. “There is Nehra sir, Rabada, Siraj bhai, Prasidh bhai and Ishant Sharma. I was waiting for my chance there. But at the same time, I was observing where they were making mistakes and where they were doing well. For me, it was about how much more I could learn,” he said. The pacer believes that the India ‘A’ set-up acted as an important bridge between domestic and international cricket and added that Siraj has been a constant support. “The India ‘A’ setup is obviously a big thing. I tried to replicate the exact same thing that I did in Ranji — bowling fast, hitting a hard length, and swinging the ball — for India ‘A’. Siraj bhai was with me too,” Brar added.