Young India pacer Gurnoor Brar has credited senior quicks Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj for helping him improve bowling consistency and lengths over the past three months. He now aims to transition into an all-format pacer capable of handling heavy workload.

The towering 6'5" speedster from Punjab rose to prominence with his stunning exploits in the home ODI series against Afghanistan in June. He consistently troubled batters by combining raw pace over 145 km/h with steep bounce.

Across the three games, Brar picked up seven wickets at an average of 25.14. As a result, he became India’s leading wicket-taker in a debut ODI series, surpassing the previous record of 6 wickets jointly held by Yuzvendra Chahal and Prasidh Krishna.

Brar then carried his impressive form to England, where he picked up four wickets in the first two ODIs before delivering a wicketless and expensive spell in the series-decider.

"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.

Brar has worked closely with head coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel and other senior colleagues to 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.

When asked if he received any particular advice from them, Brar replied: "They said that the reason you came to this setup...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."

In between his two ODI assignments with the national team, Gurnoor Brar did brilliantly in the two red-ball matches for India A against Sri Lanka A in July. He spearheaded India A to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka A in Galle, registering a sensational 10-wicket match haul (4/77 and 6/68).

Brar took 13 wickets and bowled a total of 54.3 overs across two multi-day matches in Sri Lanka, 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 said.

"...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.

Brar emphasized that a bowler's greatest asset is a prejudice-free mindset, allowing them to remain competitive regardless of pitch conditions.

"You have to have a good mindset. If we have already decided that there is nothing on the wicket, then you are one step behind the batsman. But I don't let that thing come. I always want to make the batsman feel that when I am bowling, you are not in the game.

"If I bowl on such wickets, then my motive is to give my best and keep the wicket out of the game. If it is a slow wicket, then you can hit the wicket, you can try to hit it in the pads...those options also open up.

"If it's a double-paced wicket, if we change the seam movement or the position, then that can also come into play. So, according to me, you should bowl on every wicket. There is no excuse that it's a slow wicket, it's fast, it's green, it's flat," he explained.

(With PTI Inputs)