He explained that he was in Swindon, which is his wife's hometown and close to Birmingham.
India’s practice session before the second Test against England at Edgbaston had a surprise visitor — left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar from Punjab Kings (PBKS). Brar, who did well during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 as PBKS reached the final, was seen bowling to India batters in Birmingham. Even though he is not part of the official Test squad, he was invited to bowl in the nets after a personal request from the new captain, Shubman Gill.
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On June 28, Brar was spotted at training. Since he was not wearing official team gear, it was clear he was not part of the squad. This led to some talk that India might be thinking about changes in the spin department, especially after their tough loss in the first match at Headingley.
Later, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of Brar from the session. He explained that he was in Swindon, which is his wife’s hometown and close to Birmingham. He said that Gill had sent him a message the day before, so he decided to travel and join the team for practice.
“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],” Brar said in the BCCI video.
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India’s bowling performance has been questioned after the loss in Leeds. Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets in the first innings. But he could not make much of an impact in the second innings. England chased a big target of 371 runs without much trouble. The rest of the fast bowlers were not consistent. Ravindra Jadeja, the only spinner, took just one wicket in both innings.
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There are talks that India might make changes for the second Test. Kuldeep Yadav could be brought in for more spin support, or Arshdeep Singh might be picked as a fast bowler. Another concern is whether Bumrah will play. Due to injury and workload management, he is expected to rest for one or two matches in the five-match series, and he might miss the Edgbaston Test.
The second Test will begin on July 2.
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