Gurnoor Brar, the 25-year-old Gujarat Titans fast bowler from Muktsar, Punjab, has earned his maiden call-up to the India Test and ODI squads for the upcoming Afghanistan series. Here’s everything you need to know about his rise from net bowler to national selection — his stats, bowling speed, IPL journey, domestic dominance, and why selectors could not ignore him any longer.
The India squad for the Afghanistan Test and ODI series dropped on May 19, 2026, and one name had everyone reaching for Google: Gurnoor Brar. The Gujarat Titans right-arm pacer has been rewarded with a spot in both the Test and ODI squads, making him one of the most talked-about cricketers in the country right now.
For most casual fans, Gurnoor Brar is an unfamiliar name. He has played just one IPL match in his career. He has never appeared on a prime-time broadcast wearing India colours. Yet the BCCI selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, have handed him a dual-format call-up that puts him ahead of several established domestic pacers. That decision did not come out of nowhere — it is the result of three relentless years of stacking performances in conditions and formats that most viewers never watch.
Gurnoor Brar: Early Life, Age, Height, and Background
Gurnoor Singh Brar was born on May 25, 2000, in Muktsar, Punjab. He grew up in a sports-oriented Sikh family — his father is Sukhveer Brar, and his mother is Manwinder Dhaliwal Brar. He has a younger brother named Varnoor Brar.
Gurnoor Brar’s height is one of the first things anyone notices about him. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches (some sources list 6’6″), he towers over most batters and uses that frame to generate steep bounce even on flat Indian surfaces. He completed his schooling at Ryan International School in Chandigarh before pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education (B.P.Ed) from DAV College, Chandigarh.
His early cricket days began on the tennis-ball grounds of Muktsar before he shifted to structured coaching at the Launch Pad Cricket Academy in Mohali under coaches Varinder Singh and Aayush Mehandiratta. That transition from gully cricket to academy training shaped his ability to hit hard lengths consistently — a skill that would eventually define his domestic career.
From Red Bull Campus Cricket to Mumbai Indians Net Bowler
Gurnoor Brar’s first brush with national attention came in 2019, when he won the Red Bull Campus Cricket national title playing for DAV College, Chandigarh. He picked up a three-wicket haul in the final at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur and was named Man of the Match. That performance caught the eye of Mumbai Indians scouts, and Brar was brought into the MI setup as a net bowler during IPL 2019.
The net-bowling stint proved pivotal. He trained alongside some of the best cricketers in the world and even travelled to England with the Reliance Cricket Team (owned by Mumbai Indians), playing two T20 fixtures against Kent Second XI and Sussex Second XI. That early exposure to professional setups gave him a template for what elite-level preparation looks like — something he has referenced in later conversations about his development.
Domestic Cricket Career: Ranji Trophy and Sher-E-Punjab T20
Gurnoor Brar made his List A debut for Punjab against Goa on December 14, 2022, and followed it up with his first-class debut against Railways on December 20, 2022 — picking up four wickets in that first Ranji match.
But the innings that put him on the domestic radar came in January 2023, during a Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir. With Punjab wobbling at 147/7, Brar walked in and smashed 64 runs — including five boundaries and three sixes — stitching together a century partnership with experienced seamer Siddharth Kaul that dragged Punjab to a four-wicket win. For a player slotted as a number nine or ten, it was a statement about his competitive temperament.
2024-25 Ranji Trophy: The Season That Changed Everything
The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season is where Gurnoor Brar’s stats became impossible for selectors to overlook. He finished as Punjab’s leading wicket-taker with 26 wickets in seven matches at an average of 20.30 and a strike rate of 31.65. Across the full domestic season (including later rounds), his numbers swelled to 33 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 25.66 and an economy rate of 3.43.
His best bowling figures came against Bihar — a devastating 5/14 that showcased his ability to rip through a batting lineup when conditions offered even a hint of assistance. In his final Ranji match of the season against Bengal at Eden Gardens, he picked up four wickets including the scalp of international wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, while chipping in with scores of 22 and 26 with the bat.
Sher-E-Punjab T20 2024: Dominating the State Circuit
Before the Ranji season, Gurnoor Brar had already stamped his authority in the 2024 Sher-E-Punjab T20 League, representing Trident Stallions. He finished as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 22 wickets in 11 matches at an average of just 14 and an economy of 7.33. He opened with a five-for in the first match against Agri Kings Knights and followed it up with 4/20 against JK Super Strikers.
That kind of output in a state T20 tournament — often overlooked in the broader cricketing conversation — is exactly the type of signal that selectors use when building their long lists of emerging talent.
Gurnoor Brar IPL Journey: Punjab Kings to Gujarat Titans
Gurnoor Brar’s IPL career has been a slow burn. Punjab Kings signed him as a replacement for the injured Raj Bawa ahead of IPL 2023 for just ₹20 lakhs. He made his IPL debut on April 28, 2023, against Lucknow Super Giants at Mohali, but the outing was forgettable — he conceded 42 runs in three overs without taking a wicket and did not get another game that season.
In 2024, Gujarat Titans brought him in as a replacement for the injured Sushant Mishra mid-season, though he did not feature in any matches. But the franchise clearly liked what they saw in the nets, because when the IPL 2025 mega auction arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, GT won a bidding war against Chennai Super Kings to secure Gurnoor Brar for ₹1.30 crore — more than four times his base price of ₹30 lakhs.
At Gujarat Titans, Brar joined a pace battery featuring Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, and Luke Wood. According to the official IPLT20 profile, he has 52 wickets in 18 first-class matches at an average of just over 27, with best figures of 5/14 — numbers that reflect a bowler who has continued developing even without consistent IPL opportunities.
Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, speaking on ESPNcricinfo ahead of IPL 2025, singled out Brar as a bowler to watch, predicting that his pace and bounce would translate into wickets at the franchise level.
Bowling Speed and Style: What Makes Gurnoor Brar Different
Gurnoor Brar bowling speed regularly touches the mid-140s kmph, and his height allows him to generate a release point that most Indian fast bowlers simply cannot replicate. He hits the deck hard from that elevated position, creating steep bounce that troubles batters on surfaces where other seamers might struggle to extract movement.
His value was underlined in September 2024, when the Indian team management invited him to bowl at the Chepauk nets ahead of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh. The specific brief was to replicate the bounce and pace of Bangladesh quick Nahid Rana, who had caused problems for Pakistan in a recent Test series. Reports from the session suggested Brar made several India batters uncomfortable with his steep trajectory — exactly the kind of audition that stays in a selector’s memory.
He has also earned a spot in the India A squad on the back of his domestic performances, further cementing his status on the selectors’ working list heading into 2026.
Gurnoor Brar Named in India Squad: What It Means
The India squad announcement for the Afghanistan series confirmed Gurnoor Brar in both the Test and ODI setups. The one-off Test begins on June 6 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, followed by a three-match ODI series.
With Jasprit Bumrah rested and Mohammed Siraj also rested for the series, the pace department has openings that Brar is well-placed to fill. He joins Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh as the primary seam options. Shubman Gill captains both squads, with KL Rahul as vice-captain in the Tests and Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain in the ODIs.
This is not a WTC-counting Test, which makes it the kind of fixture selectors have historically used to blood new talent. The fact that Brar has been handed a dual-format call-up — not just a Test or just an ODI slot — signals a genuine belief that he can contribute across formats rather than being a single-format specialist.
Gurnoor Brar Stats at a Glance
| Format | Matches | Wickets | Average | Best Bowling | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class | 18 | 52 | 27.31 | 5/14 | 3.62 |
| List A | 4 | 4 | 68.25 | 2/74 | 7.25 |
| T20 | 9 | — | — | — | — |
| IPL | 1 | 0 | — | 0/42 | 14.00 |
His first-class record is the headline number — 52 wickets in 18 matches tells you he takes wickets consistently, and a bowling average of 27.31 combined with a sub-4 economy rate in red-ball cricket suggests he can hold down an end while also threatening with every delivery.
What’s Next for Gurnoor Brar
If Gurnoor Brar makes his debut in the Afghanistan Test, he will become the latest product of Indian domestic cricket’s feeder system — a pipeline that has produced Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna before him. The Test in New Chandigarh offers home-ground familiarity (he plays for Punjab and has trained extensively in the region), and Afghanistan’s batting lineup, while improving, does not have the depth of a top-tier Test nation.
The three-match ODI series that follows will be viewed through the lens of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Selectors will use these matches to test combinations and identify players who can form the core of India’s pace attack going forward. Brar’s ability to bowl hard lengths with bounce and contribute useful lower-order runs makes him a genuine multi-dimensional option.
From bowling in the nets for Mumbai Indians as a teenager to earning a dual-format India call-up at 25, Gurnoor Brar’s journey is the kind of story that Indian cricket produces at its best — patience rewarded, domestic grind validated, and talent finally meeting opportunity on the biggest stage.
Follow all latest cricket news and updates here on The Dakia.
