Arshdeep Singh’s mantra has been simple — “Be stable and try to keep getting better”. And he has got results with that approach, like his game-winning spell (4/9) against the United States in New York on Wednesday.
Donning the India cap since July 2022, when he had impressed one and all making fair use of the swing on offer in Southampton during the T20I series versus England, the 25-year-old left-arm quick has quickly progressed to becoming one of Team India’s frontline pacers in the shortest format.
Not taking much time to learn and maintaining consistency are key facets of his game, which is why he was among the automatic choices for the selectors when they got down to finalising the Team India squad for this T20 World Cup. Barring the Pakistan game where he was just a touch expensive (1/31 in 4 overs) on a slow surface, Arshdeep has certainly been able to exploit the conditions well at the Nassau County ground.
It’s not that he relied just on swing in the initial overs and yorkers at the backend. Particularly against co-hosts USA, Arshdeep used the short stuff quite well and focused on the back-of-a-length deliveries as the rival batters could barely squeeze anything out of his four overs.
“The biggest change I notice about Arshdeep is his maturity. Alongside being a lot more mature now, he has also become cleverer. He knows when to use what: the slower, the bouncer... Execution-wise, he has really improved,” Mandeep Singh, who has been Arshdeep’s captain and senior in his state team Punjab, told The Telegraph on Thursday.
“Temperamentally, he was always good, which helped him deliver under pressure. And of late, he seems to have added a bit of extra pace — some four to five kilometres — to his bowling, which is expected to happen being in the Indian team set-up. He’s stronger and smarter as well,” Mandeep pointed out.
Looking at Arshdeep’s progress, Sunil Gavaskar too spoke of the need to consider him for Test cricket, after former India head coach Ravi Shastri had raised the point during the South Africa tour last December. “If Arshdeep can effectively move the white ball, he could be equally dominant with the red ball. The selection committee should seriously consider him as an option for the Test team,” Gavaskar said.
The presence of a left-arm pacer provides a team with an advantage, given the angles he can create. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if the selectors consider drafting Arshdeep in as a back-up pacer during the home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand in September-October before Team India departs for Australia.
Arshdeep, of course, will continue to be a vital cog in India’s wheel in the Super Eight stage of the ongoing T20 Cup.
