Gwalior: India’s Arshdeep Singh reacts during the first T20 International cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, in Gwalior, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma)
In a free-wheeling interview to The Indian Express after India’s T20 world cup triumph, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh had expressed how deeply he desired to play Test cricket. “Wearing the whites gave me a different feeling. It’s a true joy,” he had said.
It is also the breakfast table chat with Jasprit Bumrah that had ignited Arshdeep’s love for the longer format. “he would keep telling me that Arsh dhyan mein rakh tere ko teeno formats khelna hai (Keep it in your mind that you must play all three formats). He says when you do well in Test cricket, people remember you and rate you more highly.”
However, the 25-year-old missed out on the Test selection in the recently-concluded Test match series against Bangladesh after his poor outings in the first two rounds of the Duleep Trophy. He was pipped by Yash Dayal. But he turned up the heat in the last round of the match, picking up nine wickets, including a 6 for 40 in the second innings.
Arshdeep Singh during Duleep Trophy match. (BCCI X account)
Since making his first-class debut for Punjab in 2019, Arshdeep has played only 19 red-ball games. One of the major reasons for this is that he plays all the T20I games for India. In two years, since his debut, he has already played 55 T20 games, grabbing 86 wickets. No one has taken more wickets than Arshdeep in the T20s in this period.
Arshdeep Singh was adjudged player of the match in the first match in Gwalior and he has credited his success to playing the Duleep Trophy matches.
“T20 gets easier after playing red ball,” he told reporters ahead of the second match in Delhi.
“Red ball teaches you patience, here (in T20s) you don’t need patience, you have to think about what a batter can do.” When coaxed about the difference between the two formats, he said: “I enjoy that we can see how quickly you can adapt to the conditions, ground dimensions and format.
For the upcoming Australia tour, Arshdeep and Yash Dayal will contend for the same spot. The Ranji Trophy starting from October 11 will be a litmus Test for Arshdeep. However, it would be interesting to see whether he will be released from the team (if India wins the Delhi T20) and allowed to join the Punjab outfit, which will travel to Kerala for their first match.
“My life mantra is to enjoy the present. Kal ka Kal dekhenge (I don’t bother much about the future too much). Let others take the tension,” he said. “I want to do my best in all the formats wherever I get the chance,” he added.
On the pitch
In the five matches that the Arun Jaitley Stadium hosted in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, teams crossed the 200-run mark eight times.
“We (Punjab Kings) didn’t have a match here in the IPL this season but seeing the scores at this ground, I didn’t feel like seeing the wicket,” Arshdeep said. “We come with a neutral mindset into the match. Not a fixed mindset and adapt according to the conditions. We will come tomorrow, assess the conditions and make plans accordingly. The coach and captain will check the wicket and tell us the plan.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Pratyush Raj is a sports journalist with The Indian Express Group and specializes in breaking news stories and conducting in-depth investigative reports for the paper. His passion extends to crafting engaging content for the newspaper’s website. Pratyush takes a keen interest in writing on cricket and hockey. He started his career with the financial daily Business Standard but soon followed his true calling as Times of India’s sports reporter for Punjab in Chandigarh, a job that required extensive travel to states such as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. He has also contributed to the sports coverage of India Today Group. Pratyush’s love for sports blossomed during his upbringing in flood-prone Saharsa, a district in North Bihar, where ‘Cricket Samrat’ was his cherished companion. … Read More
First uploaded on: 08-10-2024 at 16:56 IST
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