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Former Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof has said that the pacer Gurnoor Brar could be the 'X-Factor' for two-time World Test Championship (WTC) finalists during the two-Test tour to Sri Lanka.
The two-Test series between India and Sri Lanka will start from August 15 at Galle. Brar made his debut against Afghanistan in ODIs earlier this year and has taken 11 wickets in six innings at an average of 32.81. He has promising numbers in first-class cricket, with 62 scalps in 19 matches at an average of 25.24, with four four-wicket hauls, two five-fors and a ten-fer to his name. His height, ability to generate pace and bounce and wicket-taking have earned him the status of one of the leading pacers of the next generation. Speaking to the reporters during an interaction organised by Sony Sports Network, the broadcasters of the series, Maharoof, who is an expert panelist for the series, said, "I like Gurnoor Brar. I think he can be an X Factor. He has the bounce, pace, the fighting spirit, and he can be nasty." "If you watched the warm-up match (against SL XI where he took a total of three matches), some of the deliveries he bowled against the batters who have already played Tests, he was quite uneasy on batters. A couple of players also got some body blows. If I am the think tank of India, I will be tempted to try Brar. I know he has not played red-ball cricket and has just played white-ball cricket for India, but he brings that X Factor, those short spells where you just want to break the rhythm of the batter. He can be a lethal weapon," he added. He also called Indian skipper Shubman Gill a "quality player", and he is excited to watch him bat. "Shubman Gill is a quality player. He is one of the best going around; his Test average this year is 70-odd. Numbers speak for themselves. The way he batted in the second innings of that warm-up match was superb. He is one of the best going around, not only in Tests, but also in all formats," he signed off. The Indian skipper Gill has scored 950 runs in 14 innings at an average of 79.16 and a strike rate of almost 65 in the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle, with five centuries and a fifty, with best score of 269. He is the third-highest run-getter of the cycle so far and India's highest run-getter. In ODIs this year, he has looked unstoppable, scoring 561 runs in eight innings at an average of 93.50 and a strike rate of 110.65, with a century and five fifties. The series will form part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. Led by Shubman Gill, India are currently fifth in the World Test Championship standings, having registered four wins and four losses in nine 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 series against 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)
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