Duleep Trophy: Gurnoor Brar is called up to the North Zone, Auqib Nabi is eyeing a district stint

Gurnoor Brar has been added to the North Zone squad for their Duleep Trophy semi-final against South Zone in Bengaluru, with the Punjab seamer expected to get another opportunity to push for a place in the Indian Test side.

The semi-finals will begin on Sunday at the BCCI Center of Excellence. Gurnoor arrived in Bengaluru after being part of the Indian Test squad for the series against Sri Lanka, which India won 1-0.

The selectors want to give the 23-year-old some first-class cricket ahead of India’s next Test in New Zealand in November. Gurnoor has been included in India’s last two Test squads but is still waiting to make his debut.

His recent form has strengthened his case. During India A’s shadow tour of Sri Lanka in July, Gurnoor took 10 wickets for 145 runs in the second unofficial Test. He now has 62 wickets from 19 first-class matches at an average of 25.24.

Gurnoor also made his international ODI debut this year. He played against Afghanistan in June before featuring in all three matches of India’s ODI series in England. His six ODI appearances fetched him 11 wickets at 32.81.

ESPNcricinfo has reported that Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib is considering a short stint in the English county circuit, although the move is subject to his visa being cleared.

The aim is to expose Nabi to conditions that should suit fast bowlers. The selectors would prefer him to play county cricket rather than make it to the Duleep Trophy at this point.

Nabi was one of the standout performers in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, finishing with 60 wickets at an average of 12.56 for Jammu and Kashmir. Although he did not feature during India’s Test tour of Sri Lanka, he remains a contender for the New Zealand series, with his ability to move the new ball seen as a major strength.

Should that opportunity fall through, Nabi’s next engagement is likely to come with India A. He could feature in their first match against Australia in Puducherry on September 22 before joining Jammu and Kashmir for the Irani Cup against Rest of India.

That match is scheduled to be played in Srinagar from October 1 to 5.

India A’s second game against Australia overlaps with the Iran Cup, so the selectors have a selection problem to solve. However, the fixture list is not expected to change at this stage.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

29 Aug 2026 16:18 IST