India fast bowler Gurnoor Brar said his smooth entry into international cricket has been guided by the habits and methods he honed in domestic cricket and the India A programme — trusting his pace, hitting hard lengths, and swinging the ball, the same formula that earned him his national call-up in the first place.

Brar was speaking in Lucknow after the second ODI of the ongoing series, in which he claimed 3 wickets for 60 runs as India sealed a 170-run victory to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match contest.

The India A Blueprint

'The India A setup is obviously a big thing for me. If we perform in the Ranji Trophy, we get picked for India A, the Duleep Trophy or the Irani Cup. When I got the call-up for India A, I was very happy. It was the same for me as when I bowled in Ranji, bowling fast, hitting a hard length and swinging the ball,' Brar said.

'I tried to replicate the exact same thing in India A and hit the same lines. I don't think about that much. I believe in myself and whatever I am doing, whether it is hard length or fast-paced bowling. I tried to replicate that here as well,' he added.

This continuity of method across formats and levels is a hallmark of bowlers who successfully bridge the domestic-to-international gap — and Brar appears to be following that path deliberately.

Hunger to Do Better

Despite picking up three wickets in the second ODI, Brar was candid about his own standards. 'In these two matches, I wanted to do better from my end. I know that I can do better than I bowled here. Hopefully, in the coming matches, I will be better,' he said.

He credited the team management and bowling coach for giving him the freedom to express himself. 'The management and bowling coach back me a lot, which gives me the chance to bowl more openly. They didn't give me any new tips; they just told me to back my strength,' Brar noted.

Lessons from the GT Bench at IPL 2026

Brar's IPL 2026 stint with Gujarat Titans was largely spent observing from the dugout, but he described it as a period of quiet but significant learning. 'There is a very good atmosphere in GT. There is Ashish Nehra sir, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj bhai, Prasidh Krishna bhai and Ishant Sharma, so you get to learn a lot from them,' he said.

'Obviously, every player wants to get a chance to play, and I was also waiting for my chance there. But at the same time, I was observing where they were making mistakes and where they were doing well. For me, it was about how much more I could learn so that when I got my chance, I could do better,' Brar explained.

Planning Beyond Raw Pace

On his approach to white-ball cricket, Brar acknowledged that sheer speed is only one part of the equation. 'You can't just bowl fast. Many batsmen like pace if there is nothing in the wicket. It becomes about how we plan against a good opposition or a good batsman and how we set our field positions,' he said.

He also spoke about adapting to conditions in Lucknow, where the heat and dry surface reduced swing. 'The ball wasn't swinging much due to the heat and the wicket here. So we adjusted the plan. If we don't get swing, we put the ball back. It all works according to the batsman, the wicket, and the match situation,' Brar said.

With India's pace stocks deepening and Brar visibly hungry for more, the young seamer looks set to press his case further in the third ODI.