North Zone have added Gurnoor Brar to their Duleep Trophy semi-final squad for their match against South Zone, beginning on Sunday at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
On Friday, Gurnoor reached Bengaluru from Colombo along with Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Sarfaraz Khan and Saransh Jain.
He linked up with the North Zone squad after India’s Test series against Sri Lanka, which ended in a 1-0 series win on Thursday. The tall pacer did not play a single Test, as Prasidh was preferred over him by the think tank, but he is most likely to feature in the semi-final.
Despite not having made his debut yet, Gurnoor remains firmly in the selectors’ plans, which is why he is all set to play in the Duleep Trophy. Saransh Jain, who made his debut in the second Test against Sri Lanka, will be available for selection for Central Zone in their game against East Zone, starting at the CoE on August 30.
This aligns with the selectors’ diktat of making players play domestic matches whenever there is an opportunity.
Meanwhile, Auqib Nabi could be set for a short spell in the English county circuit, provided his visa formalities are completed in time. The selectors are understood to want the pacer to get valuable exposure to conditions that are more conducive to seam bowling, instead of featuring in the Duleep Trophy at this stage. Nabi has emerged as one of the most effective bowlers in Indian conditions with the SG ball over the past two seasons.
A successful county stint could strengthen his case for a place in India’s squad for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
Should the county move fail to materialise, Nabi is expected to return to competitive action with India A. He could feature in their opening match of the two-game series against Australia A in Puducherry, beginning on September 22.
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