Domestic cricket nurtured me for international stage: Gurnoor

India’s newest pace sensation, Gurnoor Brar, believes his seamless transition to international cricket is the result of years spent honing his skills in domestic cricket and the exposure he gained through the India A set-up before stepping onto the biggest stage.

The Punjab fast bowler has impressed with his pace and control in his debut ODI series against Afghanistan.

“The India A setup is obviously a big thing for me. If we perform in the Ranji Trophy, we get picked for India A, the Duleep Trophy or the Irani Cup. When I got the call-up for India A, I was very happy,” Brar said after India’s series-clinching 170-run win.

The 26-year-old has been one of India’s standout performers in the series, troubling batters with his pace, bounce and ability to execute yorkers under pressure. He has picked six wickets in 15.5 overs across the two ODIs.

“It was the same for me as when I bowled in Ranji, bowling fast, hitting a hard length and swinging the ball. I tried to replicate the exact same thing in India A and hit the same lines.”

A towering presence at six feet five, Brar is known to be a “hit the deck” bowler, rattling batters with short deliveries. “I don’t think about that (reputation) much. I believe in myself and whatever I am doing, whether it is hard length or fast-paced bowling. I tried to replicate that here as well.”

Despite his encouraging start, Brar feels he has only scratched the surface of his potential. “In these two matches, I wanted to do better from my end. I know that I can do better than I bowled today. Hopefully, in the coming matches, I will be better.”

Brar, who spent the recent IPL season warming the bench in Gujarat Titans, credited the quality of bowlers around him for accelerating his growth as a fast bowler.

“There is a very good atmosphere in GT. There is (Ashish) Nehra sir, (Kagiso) Rabada, (Mohammed) Siraj bhai, Prasidh (Krishna) bhai and Ishant Sharma, so you get to learn a lot from them. Obviously, every player wants to get a chance to play, and I was also 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 so that when I got my chance, I could do better.

“I am thankful to God that I got my chance to show what I can do with India.” Brar’s effectiveness at the death has been among the highlights of his performances, with the youngster placing significant emphasis on mastering yorkers. “According to me, every fast bowler should work on yorkers. I work on my death bowling to see how consistently I can bowl yorkers because when you have to bowl at the death, yorkers are very useful, especially when good hitters come in.”

He said the support from the Indian team management has helped him bowl with greater freedom.

“The management and bowling coach back me a lot, which gives me the chance to bowl more openly. They didn’t give me any new tips; they just told me to back my strength.”

Brar added that white-ball bowling was as much about planning and variation as outright speed.

“You can’t just bowl fast. Many batsmen like pace if there is nothing in the wicket. It becomes about how we plan against a good opposition or a good batsman and how we set our field positions.” The pacer also spoke about the importance of adapting his lengths according to conditions.

“If your outswing is good, every batsman faces problems, so I try to swing it as much as I can. When the swing is less, I push my length back.”

He cited the conditions in the second ODI, where the scorching heat reduced any assistance for swing bowlers.

“The ball wasn’t swinging much due to the heat and the wicket. So we adjusted the plan. If we don’t get swing, we put the ball back. It all works according to the batsman, the wicket, and the match situation.”