2 min readAug 10, 2026 04:39 PM IST
India’s fast bowling battery in Sri Lanka will have a couple of relatively new names and former pacer Zaheer Khan has said that he likes seeing younger players coming through. Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi are the potential debutants in the squad. While Brar has played six ODIs, it would be an international debut for Nabi.
Zaheer, 47, said that Brar could have a long career. “It’s good to see a young crop of fast bowlers coming through that bowl at high speeds. I believe Gurnoor Brar is the one who has the ability to have a good and lengthy career. It’s good that he has been fast-tracked. Even when I spent some time with him, I could see exciting potential in him. We have to wait and see how his career materialises eventually, but on potential, he has impressed me the most,” Zaheer told journalist Vimal Kumar.
Brar had impressed during India’s three-day warm-up match in Colombo ahead of the two-Test series, which starts on August 15. Sri Lanka XI finished the first day on 363/8 in 90 overs, with Nishan Fernando’s fluent 66 and Ravindu Rasantha’s authoritative 71 laying the platform through a commanding 110-run opening stand before captain Sonal Dinusha anchored the middle phase with a composed 52. Brar looked increasingly threatening as the ball aged.
He had a lot of close calls before finally getting a wicket by forcing Pavan Rathnayake into a miscued hook before continuing to beat the outside edge with the older ball. Even during the final session, he found late movement, extracted steep bounce and regularly drew uncertain responses from the batsmen. His figures of 1/49 in 12 overs understated the sustained pressure he created and arguably strengthened his case to partner Mohammed Siraj in Galle.
India play a Test series in Sri Lanka for the first time in nearly 10 years, with the last one coming in 2017. India were dominant at the time and won the series 3-0. The first Test will be played in Galle from August 15 while the second will be played in Colombo from August 23.
