Gurnoor Brar is likely to play for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against South Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The India and Punjab pacer has been added to the North Zone squad ahead of the semifinals.
The Punjab pacer has joined the North Zone camp following India's recently concluded Test series in Sri Lanka, where India secured a 1-0 series victory. The move is part of the selectors' broader effort to provide Brar with substantial red-ball cricket as India begin preparing for their next Test assignment in New Zealand in November.
Brar is expected to come straight into North Zone's playing XI. The 26-year-old has already been around the national setup and was included in India's squad for the Sri Lanka Tests,
although he did not make his debut. His red-ball credentials received a major boost during India A's tour of Sri Lanka in July, when he produced a career-best 10 for 145 against Sri Lanka A in Galle. He took 4/77 in the first innings before returning with 6/68 in the second, helping India A win by 10 wickets and seal the unofficial series 1-0.
That performance underlined why the selectors continue to monitor the tall right-arm quick. Brar has claimed 62 wickets in 19 first-class matches at an average of 25.24, including two five-wicket hauls and a ten-wicket match haul.
He also made his international debut in June, taking 3/27 against Afghanistan in Dharamsala. Brar subsequently played all three ODIs against England and has 11 wickets from six ODI appearances.
With India searching for pace options ahead of New Zealand, the Duleep Trophy could prove another important audition for Brar.
North Zone, captained by Kanhaiya Wadhawan, beat West Zone in the quarterfinals of the competition.
North Zone Duleep Trophy Squad
Ayush Doseja, Yash Dhull, Qamran Iqbal, Sanat Sangwan, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Nishant Sindhu, Abid Mushtaq, Anshul Kamboj, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (C), Arjun Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Sunil Kumar, Nikhil Kashyap, Yudhvir Charak, Gurnoor Brar
