Colombo [Sri Lanka], August 11 (ANI): Former Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof has stated that the pacer Gurnoor Brar may very well be the ‘X-Factor’ for two-time World Test Championship (WTC) finalists in the course of the two-Test tour to Sri Lanka.
The two-Test collection between India and Sri Lanka will begin from August 15 at Galle. Brar made his debut in opposition to Afghanistan in ODIs earlier this 12 months and has taken 11 wickets in six innings at a median of 32.81. He has promising numbers in first-class cricket, with 62 scalps in 19 matches at a median of 25.24, with 4 four-wicket hauls, two five-fors and a ten-fer to his title. His peak, skill to generate tempo and bounce and wicket-taking have earned him the standing of one of many main pacers of the subsequent era.
Speaking to the reporters throughout an interplay organised by Sony Sports Network, the broadcasters of the collection, Maharoof, who’s an professional panelist for the collection, stated, ‘I like Gurnoor Brar. I feel he could be an X Factor. He has the bounce, tempo, the preventing spirit, and he could be nasty.’
‘If you watched the warm-up match (in opposition to SL XI the place he took a complete of three matches), among the deliveries he bowled in opposition to the batters who’ve already performed Tests, he was fairly uneasy on batters. A few gamers additionally acquired some physique blows. If I’m the assume tank of India, I can be tempted to attempt Brar. I do know he has not performed red-ball cricket and has simply performed white-ball cricket for India, however he brings that X Factor, these quick spells the place you simply need to break the rhythm of the batter. He is usually a deadly weapon,’ he added.
He additionally known as Indian skipper Shubman Gill a ‘high quality participant’, and he’s excited to look at him bat.
‘Shubman Gill is a top quality participant. He is without doubt one of the greatest going round; his Test common this 12 months is 70-odd. Numbers converse for themselves. The approach he batted within the second innings of that warm-up match was very good. He is without doubt one of the greatest going round, not solely in Tests, but additionally in all codecs,’ he signed off.
The Indian skipper Gill has scored 950 runs in 14 innings at a median of 79.16 and a strike fee of virtually 65 within the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle, with 5 centuries and a fifty, with greatest rating of 269. He is the third-highest run-getter of the cycle up to now and India’s highest run-getter.
In ODIs this 12 months, he has seemed unstoppable, scoring 561 runs in eight innings at a median of 93.50 and a strike fee of 110.65, with a century and 5 fifties.
The collection will kind a part of the continued ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. Led by Shubman Gill, India are presently fifth within the World Test Championship standings, having registered 4 wins and 4 losses in 9 matches, with a Points Percentage (PCT) of 48.150. Sri Lanka is at sixth, with a win, a draw and two losses.
India’s squad for the Test collection in opposition to Sri Lanka is: Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain and Auqib Nabi. (ANI)