Former Indian opener and commentator Aakash Chopra has reckoned that Gurnoor Brar’s awkward lines and lengths have unsettled New Zealand in the initial two ODIs of the ongoing five-game series.
Speaking to Cricinfo, Chopra revealed the reasons behind Brar being so successful in the ongoing five-game ODI series Down Under. He scalped four wickets, conceding only 30 runs in his 10-over spell, which included two maidens in the second ODI.
“If India are playing four fast bowlers, he’s the last one to be introduced. It’s a good thing in ODIs that you still have two new balls. So the ball is not that old, but he’s also someone who hits the deck hard, bowls from a fairly decent high-arm action. So the point of release is quite high. He dismissed both Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips with short-pitch deliveries,” Chopra said.
“When you look at it from the batter’s POV, it feels that they are not expecting the ball to finish where it finished. When you look at the length, it does not come across as a ball which is pitched in his half. These are slightly short of good length deliveries, but they are climbing rapidly and awkwardly, and batters are finding it difficult,” he added.
Chopra acknowledged that Gurnoor Brar has a strong case for selection but pointed out that Prasidh Krishna is also in contention, making it likely that only one of the two pacers will eventually make the cut, adding that neither offers much with the bat.
“It’s a compelling case, but you also have to bear in mind that there is Prasidh Krishna around. So, in all likelihood, when I am trying to actually put the team on paper, I find one of the two making it eventually, because none of them are capable enough to bat at it,” he noted.
“When I look at that combination, Arshdeep Singh will pip everyone to the post because he’s a left-armer. Jasprit Bumrah is non-negotiable. We should talk about Siraj at some stage. There’s Harshit Rana and Anshul Kamboj, who can actually bat at eight. So, that’s a very crowded lane, but yes, he’s a part of that crowd. World Cup is still a year away, but he’s making the right noises,” Chopra concluded.
