Harpreet Brar

28-year-old, 6ft Punjabi Spinner Harpreet Brar is an Indian Cricketer who plays for Punjab Kings in IPL and Punjab in Domestic setup. He has represented India U-23 in 2019, and along with his spinning deliveries he has also delivered some decent innings with his bat. The left-hand bowler is seeking his way to the Indian Cricket team in the future. 

Harpreet Brar Along the years

Career

Harpreet Brar is yet to feature in First Class cricket, he has played for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy. Before playing any Domestic game Harpreet made his debut in IPL for Kings XI Punjab in 2019. The same year in September he appeared in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and after two years in 2021, he got the opportunity to feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Punjab.

Just after the 2019 IPL Harpreet was included in the India U-23 squad for five-match ODI series against Bangladesh U-23. Harpreet Brar has been continuously playing for Punjab Kings since his maiden season. 

Domestic Career

Harpreet started for Roopar in the Punjab inter-district cricket tournament and regularly topped the wicket-takers charts. However, once his team was relegated, the 6 feet 2 inches spinner made a move to Mohali on Gurkeerat Singh Maan's insistence and that worked wonders for the youngster. Harpreet had a difficult journey after playing for Punjab under-16. The junior selectors ignored him consistently. At 23, he played in his first under-23 season in 2018.

In 2019, Harpreet debuted in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy just after featuring in two IPL games for Kings XI Punjab and playing an ODI for India U-23. He was the highest wicket-taker for Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2019 by taking 14 wickets in 9 games. In 2021 Harpreet Brar debuted in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the Punjab. Harpreet is yet to play his first Ranji Trophy game for his state. 

IPL Career

Harpreet Brar was snaffled up by Kings XI Punjab for a sum of INR 20 lakhs at the auctions before IPL 2019. Brar’s story has been one of tenacity and patience. The left-arm spinner had spent some years trying to break into the Punjab domestic cricket team, and auditioned with KXIP on four occasions, only to face rejection each time. He had decided to migrate to Canada, but a last-moment call-up by his local IPL franchise has breathed new life into his cricketing ambitions. He made his IPL debut in 2019 and played two games and was retained by KXIP ahead of the 2020 season.

The allrounder made his debut against delhi Capitals and came at a precarious situation where his team struggled and blasted off 12 ball 20 to take the Punjab side to a respectable total.

Harpreet couldn’t pick any wicket for the first two consecutive years in the IPL where he got to play only three games. In 2021 he managed to dismiss five players in his seven IPL games, Virat Kohli was his first IPL wicket. He hasn’t been so impressive in his IPL career, he has picked only 25 wickets in 41 games, and he has taken the highest 9 wickets in 13 games in IPL 2023. 

Background

Junior cricket is not a guaranteed path to becoming an established cricketer. In a country like India, the path is even tougher because you are competing with hundreds of talented boys. However, Brar has battled all the odds and made his way upto the top. His coach, Bharti Viz, who has played 72 first-class matches for Punjab and taken 319 wickets has repeatedly shown confidence in Brar's abilities.

Harpreet Brar was born to a Sikh Couple Mohinder Singh Brar and Gurpreet Kaur Brar Meerut, Uttar Pradesh but soon his family moved to Punjab.