Gurnoor Brar: Gentle giant who took up cricket at 17 and got picked for India at 26
When Sukhbir Singh Brar came to know that his teenaged son Gurnoor was passionate about cricket, he was more than happy to give wings to his dreams for two reasons. One, he truly wanted to be a supportive father. Two, being an ASI in Punjab Police he thought of it as a perfect way to ensure that the 17-year-old stays away from “bad company”.
“As he was reaching late teens, I wanted my son to get into the sport apart from pursuing his studies so that he doesn’t have time to indulge in anything else,” Sukhbir recalled in an interview to PTI reflecting on his pacer son’s rise at his upscale residence in Chandigarh’s sector 125. “Also, systematic coaching means you don’t keep any bad company. And moment Gurnoor joined Champs Academy under coach Ravi ‘sir’, he didn’t look back,” he said with a smile.
Gurnoor was a lanky boy who took up cricket in 11th standard. At 26, he is a part of India’s Test and ODI squads even though the national debut is yet to come. But Brar senior, who stands at an imposing 6 feet 4 inch which just an inch less than Gurnoor, is quite confident of his son’s bright future.
“I am a Policeman but I get more emotional than Gurnoor’s mother (Manvinder). When we got the news of his India selection, I literally had tears in my eyes,” Brar senior, who represented Punjab in the 1995 National Basketball Championship, The Brar family got the news from their son in a very matter of fact manner.
“The day the squad for Afghanistan Test was announced, we were at my ancestral home in Muktsar Sahib due to a death in the family. Now Gurnoor, if he had evening practice during IPL, would go off to sleep in afternoon and always tell his mom to wake him up around 4:45 pm.
“So my wife called to wake him up and asked, ‘Wasn’t there team announcement today?’ ‘Oh yes Mama, I have been selected’ is all he said before keeping the phone down,” Sukhbir laughed.
“My son has always been like that. He doesn’t go overboard with anything. Very reserved, apne kaam se kaam rakhnewala ladka hai woh (believes in minding his own business).” He remembered how Gurnoor took up cricket quite late compared to other kids, who are sent to academies by the time they are 9 or 10 years old. “Being a policeman, I hardly had time during their (his two sons) growing-up years. After Gurnoor completed his 10th standard board exams, I made him try basketball since that was the sport I played and height is something we are blessed to have.
“Gurnoor tried it for two-three weeks but he told me ‘Papa I am not enjoying’,” he recalled. Unlike the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, university cricket isn’t the most dynamic in India but Gurnoor’s first big break was representing DAV College Chandigarh in an inter-college tournament where he got Player of the match award in both the semi-final and final. “My son, despite his cricket commitments, got 80 per cent in Arts in 12th standard and got into DAV College on sports quota. He had a role in DAV College’s triumph and was supposed to play the International College tournament to be held in Dubai,” Sukhbir said.
“At that time, Mohali District Association named him for Katoch Shield (Punjab’s biggest inter-district meet). He decided that to play for Punjab, he needs to play Katoch rather than go to Dubai. I felt he made a good decision,” Sukhbir said.
Gurnoor’s rise has been phenomenal and he caught the national selection committee’s attention for his height and ability to extract awkward bounce from length with skills to hit the deck hard.
The Indian team management had first called him for nets when they wanted simulation for 6 feet 5-inch-tall Bangladeshi pacer Nahid Rana.
“He was specifically called so that he could give the batters practice before they played Bangladesh’s Nahid Rana. After that his performance at home against Australia A and South Africa A was impressive and now he has got an India call-up,” he said.
He hasn’t played too many IPL games but Brar senior couldn’t stop thanking Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra for his support during the tournament.
“The amount of support and help Nehra ‘sir’ has given, we are indebted. Even during IPL, Nehra ‘sir’ helped Gurnoor with his red ball bowling. I always tell him, this is your time to learn.
“You have Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, all senior international bowlers. You go and ask them questions and clear your doubts. Seniors won’t come to juniors. Juniors will have to approach seniors.”
However, the IPL riches haven’t swept Gurnoor off his feet and that is what makes the father proud.
“When he first got Rs 20 lakh from Punjab Kings, he asked me, ‘Papa can I buy a car?’ I told him, ‘It’s your income, you are free to buy a car’. That’s how he bought his first car.”
Gurnoor will be travelling to Sri Lanka with India A side for two four-day fixtures but ask Brar senior if he wants to accompany him, he answers in negative.
“If me and my wife go to Sri Lanka, he will be worried about us. At this point, he should only focus on his game,” he concluded.
