Who’s Gurnoor Brar? Punjab’s Rising Pacer Who Received Maiden Test Call-Up
Gurnoor Brar earns maiden India Test call-up for one-off Afghanistan match in Mullanpur, replacing rested Jasprit Bumrah, after impressive red ball form and IPL rise.
Punjab‘s rising fast-bowling prospect Gurnoor Brar has earned his maiden Test call-up after being named in India’s squad for the one-off match against Afghanistan in Mullanpur next month. With Jasprit Bumrah rested, the selectors led by Ajit Agarkar have opted to test fresh talent, bringing Brar into the mix alongside Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj.
Who is Gurnoor Brar?
Hailing from the Sri Muktsar Sahib district in Punjab, Brar’s journey to the top has been far from traditional. The 6-foot-5 pacer initially played football and tennis before turning to cricket at the relatively late age of 16. Inspired by South African pace legend Dale Steyn, Brar soon started honing his skills as a fast bowler, using his height to extract bounce and create difficult angles for batters.
His raw speed first caught the attention of India captain Shubman Gill during their Under-19 days. Gill played a key role in shaping Brar’s early career and even helped him break into the district team. That early backing proved crucial as Brar steadily progressed through the ranks in Punjab cricket.
Brar’s exposure to top-level cricket increased when he joined Punjab Kings as a net bowler, where he influenced senior players, including Shikhar Dhawan. His performances eventually earned him an IPL debut. However, his rise faced a setback when a serious disc fracture ruled him out of the 2023–24 season.
At a critical stage, Gill once again extended support by helping Brar join the Gujarat Titans as a net bowler. Under head coach Ashish Nehra, Brar worked on managing his workload and recovery from injury. Gujarat Titans signed him for Rs 30 lac in 2025 and retained him for the 2026 season, showing confidence in his potential.
In domestic cricket,
Brar has built a strong red-ball record. In just over a dozen first-class matches, he has picked up more than 30 wickets at an average of around 18, including a standout spell of 5 for 14. He has also chipped in with the bat, including a battling 64, highlighting his value as a lower-order option.
While his white-ball numbers are still developing, Brar‘s consistency in the longer format has established him as a promising fast bowler who is now on the Brink of international cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from India’s one-off Test match against Afghanistan in June, while KL Rahul has replaced Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain of the 15-member squad that will be headed by Shubman Gill.
The fixture is the first time India are playing Tests since the 2-0 defeat to South Africa at home last November. Aside from Bumrah, the other omissions from that squad are left-arm spin allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, and fast bowler Akash Deep. Left-arm spin allrounder Manav Suthar and fast bowler Gurnoor Brar have got their maiden call-ups to the Test squad, while another left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey has also been included.
Fast bowlers Prince Yadav and Brar, and Dubey, got their virgin call-ups to the ODI squad for the three matches against Afghanistan. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya made their comebacks to the format, while Dhurv Jurel, Ayush Badoni, Pant, Jadeja, Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj were left out from the squad that lost the home ODI series 2-1 to New Zealand in January.
Jadeja picked up a niggle towards the back end of IPL 2026, whereas Rana and Akash Deep missed the entire season due to injuries.
Brar, 25, has played only 18 first-class matches and nine List A matches, but has already represented India A in both formats. He took 11 wickets in eight games in last season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy during Punjab’s run to the semi-final. He was also the joint-top wicket-taker with eight scalps when India A hosted Australia A for two four-day matches in Lucknow in September 2025.
The home series against Afghanistan begins with the Test match in New Chandigarh from June 6 to 10, followed by three ODIs in Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chen on June 14, 17 and 20. India and Afghanistan have played only one Test against each other previously, in Bengaluru in 2018, which ended in a victory for the hosts by an innings and 262 runs inside two days.
India Test squad vs Afghanistan
Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel
India ODI squad vs Afghanistan
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey
Although he admired Steyn, Brar’s first love was never cricket. “I used to play football and tennis in school. I never took cricket seriously. It was just for fun,” he says.
“One of my friends suggested that I give trials at school. He argued that since I have good height, I could be a good bowler,” laughs Brar, who stands six feet five inches.
It turned out to be great advice. Within two years, Brar met Shubman Gill, who was with the India Under-19 team at the time, and Brar’s pace left a mark on the current India Test and ODI captain.
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