North Zone have drafted Gurnoor Brarinto their squad for the Duleep Trophy 2026-27 semi-final against South Zone, which gets under way on Sunday at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The Punjab seamer arrives fresh from India's Test assignment in Sri Lanka, a series that concluded with a 1-0 victory on Thursday.
Selectors want Brar to accumulate as much red-ball cricket as possible before India's two-match Test series in New Zealand in November, and he is widely expected to feature in the
playing XI from the first day of the semi-final. The 23-year-old has not yet earned a Test cap, yet he has been named in India's last two Test squads and has remained a fixture in the BCCI's targeted development group for more than a year.
Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi is absent from the North Zone setup for this fixture. According to ESPNcricinfo, the national selectors would rather Nabi spend time in seamer-friendly English conditions, and he is currently pursuing a short county stint, pending visa clearance.
What does Gurnoor Brar's red-ball record look like heading into this semi-final?
Brar's first-class numbers make a compelling case for his inclusion. Across 19 matches, he has claimed 62 wickets at an average of 25.24, a return that has kept him firmly in the selectors' thinking despite the absence of a Test debut. His most recent red-ball highlight came in July, when he toured Sri Lanka with India A and produced a match haul of 10 for 145 in the second unofficial Test.
His white-ball progress has run in parallel. Brar made his ODI debut against Afghanistan in June and then appeared in all three one-day internationals during India's tour of England. Across six ODI appearances in total, he has taken 11 wickets at an average of 32.81, a record that underlines his growing value across formats at the senior level.
What is next for Auqib Nabi if the county move does not come through?
Nabi's 2025-26 Ranji Trophy campaign was one of the most productive by any bowler in recent domestic history. He finished with 60 wickets at an average of 12.56 for Jammu and Kashmir, yet he was not given a game during India's Test tour of Sri Lanka. Despite that omission, he remains in contention for a place on the New Zealand tour, where his ability to move the new ball is expected to be a significant asset.
Should the county arrangement fall through, Nabi is likely to appear in the first of India A's two matches against Australia in Puducherry, beginning September 22. He would then link up with the Jammu and Kashmir squad for the Irani Cup against Rest of India, scheduled from October 1 to 5 in Srinagar. The second India A fixture against Australia overlaps with the Irani Cup, which may require selectors to split their resources across both competitions. A revision to either schedule is considered virtually impossible at this stage.
North Zone full squad for Duleep Trophy semi-final against South Zone
Kanhaiya Wadhawan (C/WK), Ayush Badoni (VC), Sanat Sangwan, Yash Dhull, Ayush Doseja, Nishant Sindhu, Anshul Kamboj, Nikhil Kashyap, Qamran Iqbal, Abdul Samad, Abid Mushtaq, Sunil Kumar, Sahil Lotra, Arshdeep Singh, Arjun Sharma, Gurnoor Brar
