Gurnoor Brar eyes all-format bowling role, learning from Bumrah and Siraj

India pacer Gurnoor Brar says bowling alongside senior quicks Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj in the last three months has helped him find consistency in lengths and he is now aiming to become an all-format pacer capable of taking heavy workload.

Brar has made a reasonable beginning to his national career, taking 11 wickets across six ODIs with an economy that hovers around seven.

But the 26-year-old thinks that he would be able to better that with the newly-acquired know-how on lengths after his stints with the national team during ODI series against Afghanistan and England.

"I got selected to the India team because of the way I was performing in the Ranji Trophy and India A. But I was looking for more learnings as to how I can be more consistent on my lengths and which batsman I can bowl according to which wicket. That was my aim," Brar told select media on the sidelines of the ongoing Duleep Trophy where he is playing for North Zone.

""From the beginning, I have only one goal. I have to load my body so that no matter how many overs I bowl, or how many balls I bowl, it doesn't matter to my body. I enjoy bowling more," he said.

Interactions with India head coach Gautam Gambhir, bowling coach Morne Morkel and other senior colleagues like Bumrah helped him fine-tune his craft.

"I would say that there has been a lot of growth as a bowler after my interactions with Morne sir and Gambhir Sir. Obviously, after seeing and talking to Boom (Bumrah) Bhai, Siraj Bhai, Prasidh (Krishna) Bhai...it's an experience.

"When you are watching them closely, how they prepare themselves and attack batters consistently, it's a lot of fun and learning. I am also trying to do that in my career and become an all-format bowler," he said.

So, did he get any specific advice from them? "They said that the reason you came to this setupCentre...don't change it. But, obviously, you should know how to bowl in which conditions. Apart from that, stick to your pace and length and with experience and with playing more matches, it will get better," he said.

The improvement is already visible as Brar took 13 wickets across two multi-day matches against Sri Lanka A and SLC XI in Galle and Colombo.

Managing workload In the two matches in Sri Lanka, the Punjab pacer bowled 54.3 overs, which left him a pleased man.

"I still feel that if I bowl in a match, I should stay in the game. Obviously, you need breaks and recovery. For that, we have to plan what we can do for recovery when the match is over. How can we sleep well? "But according to me, the more we push, the stronger our body will become. I have a mindset like the old fast bowlers -- just keep bowling," he added.

"...because that was a slow wicket and if you take a wicket on a pitch like that, then obviously, it's a very good feeling. After that performance, I have gained a lot of confidence that I can bowl on any wicket.

"It doesn't matter to me which player is in front of me, which wicket, which ground. It's just me versus me, and I always keep pushing myself in every spell," he noted.