Punjab’s left-arm off-spinner Harpreet Brar, who made a name for himself through his performances in the Indian Premier League, is determined to do well in red-ball cricket this year and land possibly land a spot in the India A or the senior national side in the next six months or so.
Harpreet is putting full focus on how he can improve himself and become a better bowler in the longest format of the game and the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season, which kicked off earlier this month, is the perfect avenue for him to do so. And it will be fair to say that he has started the new season in the best way possible.
In the season opener against Assam, Harpreet Brar had a quite outing, scalping three wickets across innings in a match which had ended in a draw. However, in the second match, Harpreet turned it all around and produced a match winning performance which was also worthy of the player of the match award.
The 31-year-old registered an astonishing seven wickets in the first innings and then added another two in the second innings to finish with a total of nine wickets. His performance was extremely decisive as Punjab enforced follow-on before completing a dominating seven-wicket win over Chhattisgarh.
While speaking to the media after Punjab’s blockbuster win, Harpreet Brar spoke about his strategy. The off-spinner stated that the side’s motive was to go hard at the opposition and his own game plan was to bowl in the right areas and earn crucial dismissals.
“With a win behind us in the first game, we wanted to go hard at the opposition and go for the win. My plan was simple – to bowl in the right areas and bowl to my strength. The wicket was also offering good bounce and some turn. I enjoyed bowling against them and plotting the dismissals,” Harpreet Brar told the Hindustan Times.
Harpreet then opened up about his desire to do well in red-ball cricket even if he enjoys bowling in the limited over formats.
“I enjoy bowling in the shortest format and one-day cricket, but this season I am focused and determined to do well in red-ball cricket. I want to play for India A, and India eventually. The start to the ongoing season is great, and I want to build on that and showcase more of my spin skills in upcoming matches,” Harpreet added.
His bowling coach in Punjab Harmeet Bansal also stated that Harpreet has no other target but to generate wickets whenever given the chance. At the moment Brar is working hard on improving his seam positioning.