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As the Shubman Gill-led Team India prepares for the upcoming second Test against England, the Men in Blue saw a new face in their practice session. Star Punjab Kings (PBKS) spinner, Harpreet Brar was seen training with the Indian team at Edgbaston ahead of the second Test of the five-match series, which is set to be played from July 2 to 6 in Birmingham.
The left-arm spinner, who had a decent outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with the Punjab-based franchise joined the Indian team on the invitation from their skipper, Shubman Gill. The 29-year-old, however has joined the side only as a net bowler, he also revealed that as he was visiting his wife’s family in Swindon, and a text message from Gill led him to join the side in Birmingham.
How Harpreet Brar joined Team India in Birmingham midway through Test series vs England?
Speaking to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the spinner revealed the reason behind his sudden joining during Team India's practice session. "My wife is from Swindon. It's very close to Birmingham, it's a 1-1.5 hour drive. I was talking to Shubman (Gill), he texted me yesterday. So I thought, let's go and practice there (Birmingham),” he said in a video shared by BCCI.
The Indian spinner also expressed happiness seeing Arshdeep Singh with the Indian side. “The way he (Arshdeep) is doing it, it feels good. I feel very proud. It’s a different feeling. It feels like you are among your own family," Brar added.
As seen in the video, Harpreet was spotted wearing a non-official training gear while bowling to Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and other batters present during the net practice. Apart from Brar, another domestic pacer from Chandigarh, Jagjit Singh Sandhu was also present during Team India’s net practice.
Speaking in the same video, Sandhu, who is currently in Birmingham due to his cricket commitments, said, “It didn't feel like I hadn't spoken to them for a long time. They were all like, oh? They were all surprised. I play first class cricket for Chandigarh. Then I got to know of this and came here to bowl in the nets session of the Indian team."
