It may be a coincidence, but India’s recent selections under Shubman Gill are beginning to reflect familiar trust lines. In New Chandigarh last week, debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar floored Afghanistan during the one-off Test. Suthar’s range, well known to Gill from their IPL stint together, justified the call with seven wickets in the match, headlined by a six-for on debut.
On Saturday at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, two more debutants followed in the first ODI, Gill’s seventh match in charge. Left-arm tweaker Harsh Dubey had set the domestic charts on fire with the red ball and had already shown promise in the IPL circuit.
There were murmurs of selection bias when Gill unveiled the other debutant at the toss, his Punjab and Gujarat Titans teammate, Gurnoor Brar. It was not a straightforward choice on overwhelming merit. Brar had not necessarily knocked the proverbial selection door down in the public eye.
His domestic bowling statistics aren’t outstanding, reflecting those of a fairly average domestic pacer. 52 First-Class wickets at 27.30 and 22 wickets across 17 white-ball matches since 2021. But what has always stood out was the unmissable height, towering at six-foot-five, and the unmistakable accuracy in pounding the deck hard. Gill had not lost sight of the gifted bowler ever since their first meeting during the Katoch Shield tournament in Mohali in their U-19 days. A young leader pushed for Brar’s inclusion in the Mohali district team and Punjab U-23s. Brar recounts those days with gratitude, but is also unaware that his innate skills were enough to draw attention. Gill had backed him for a swift one-day initiation for good reason.
India’s ODI build-up has quietly begun. Wedged between a marathon spell of T20Is and World Test Championship assignments, India have 19 ODIs left until January 2027 in the remainder of the ongoing Future Tours Program (FTP) calendar. A World Cup is only 16 months away, set to take place predominantly in South Africa in October-November 2027. The probability of a SENA tour remains slim in the lead-up to next year’s quadrennial event. The best bet, then, is to throw all the targeted hopefuls straight into the deep end. An Afghan skirmish may not have posed the stiffest challenge, but that cannot discard the traces of promise Brar and Dubey showed on a rain-marred afternoon.
Impressive start
When the ball moved off the seam and through the air noticeably in his first over – India’s second after Gill won the toss and opted to bowl – Brar exuded the rhythm of an expert hand. Not rushed by the occasion to impress with his naturally shorter lengths, the lanky seamer let the ball float through, on the full, to undo Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran within five deliveries. Fittingly, the ball lobbed up to Brar’s most understanding teammate, his captain, at mid-off. Gill and the selectors’ punt was vindicated on multiple grounds when Brar returned to bowl the final over of the curtailed 25-over innings and knocked over two more wickets.
The speeds, touching 146 km/h without visible strain, point to a high ceiling with further refinement in movements at the crease. But the apparent quickness through the air was equally encouraging, suggesting that Brar could prove to be a worthy contender in the coming months.
“Damn impressive this from Gurnoor Brar, clearly what the selectors saw in him is on full display,” India bowling legend R Ashwin wrote on X as Brar walked away with the best figures (3 for 23) on his debut.
Unflappable temperament
Ashwin wouldn’t have been too disappointed with Dubey either, the left-arm spinner whose skills had caught his attention during club cricket in Chennai. Red-ball cricket appeared to be Dubey’s true calling, particularly after a record 69-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy last year. With Suthar pipping him to the Test cap last week, the selectors have banked on Dubey’s unflappable temperament to succeed in limited-overs instead, auditioning for the left-arm spot that could soon be vacated by Ravindra Jadeja. With Axar Patel omitted from the recent ODI squads, Dubey could prove to be a useful asset if he can outperform him on wicket-taking impact.
Despite being carted for 38 runs in boundaries – five sixes and two fours – Dubey returned three wickets, including the Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, undone by extra bounce from the slot.
“Very impressive upfront – how Gurnoor bowled, brilliant pace and the way he was swinging the ball, the kind of lengths he bowled consistently. And even Harsh as well. After the first over, he went for 16 runs… The way he pulled the game back, trusted himself and kept tossing the ball up. It was very impressive,” remarked Gill post-match.
There is time to evaluate the efficacy of these selection punts. For now, the captain and the backroom staff are drawn by specific profiles for defined slots, a project that will be worth tracking in the coming months.
