BENGALURU: Over the last 18-24 months, a number of Indian seamers, new and old, have picked up varying ailments. Some of them have been forced to miss a lot of the action. One of the latest fast-bowling cabs of the ranks, Gurnoor Brar, though isn't overly worried about adding to this statistic.
“From the beginning, I have always believed in training my body to high loads," he told journalists after stumps on Day Two of the Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI CoE on Monday. "No matter how much I bowl, it should not matter. I enjoy bowling more. There is a need for breaks, obviously, but it is all planning. And the more we push our bodies, the stronger our body gets. I have an old fast bowler’s mindset: the more you bowl, the stronger you become.”
It's what has helped the quick — built like a high-class decathlete — wear the India jersey over the last few months (three ODIs each against Afghanistan and England). It's very clear that the management also rate his red-ball skills; he was in the squad for the lone Test against Afghanistan as well as in the series against Sri Lanka. They rate his skills because of his ability to bowl a heavy ball, move the ball off the seam and keep coming in hard. That he can crank it up also helps his case. "Pace is very important for me," the 26-year-old said. "But there are advantages and disadvantages. If we don’t stick to the right lines and length, the runs can flow.”
Brar was one of the main difference makers for North Zone on the second day as his four wickets helped put the skids on the scoring before Tilak Varma's century put South in command. One of his four wickets, the one where he sent N Jagadeesan's off stump for a small walk, was a dream ball — it pitched on middle before beating the outside edge to slam into the top of off. He may be young at first-class level (this is only his 20th game at this level) but he has already learned the importance of trying to take the pitch out of the game.
“It is very important to have a good mindset," the Punjab pacer said. "If we go into the game thinking there is nothing on the surface, then we are already behind before the game starts. I try to not allow that to happen. I try to make the batter feel like I'm always in the game. That’s the motive I go into every game, to take the wicket out of the equation."
Already a strength of his, this was reinforced to him over the last few months, when he spent time with the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Morne Morkel inside India's dressing room. "I was performing well in the Ranji Trophy, I also did well for India A, I was picked on that basis. That is what I have been sticking to. But there have been learnings on how to stay consistent with my lengths, and how to bowl to different batters on different wickets. I’ve been growing well under Morne sir, Gambhir sir (Gautam), Boom (Bumrah) bhai, Siraj bhai and Prasidh (Krishna), so seeing them prepare, I had a lot of fun and I have also developed a lot. The learnings from Bumrah and other seniors was to just stick to my strengths and don’t change. But the important thing is to understand bowling in different conditions. And things come along with the experience of playing more matches.”
With the all important New Zealand away series around the corner, don't be surprised if Brar is a call up to that, especially if he gets added to the shadow A tour beginning in the last week of October.
