For any cricketer, a Test cap is the ultimate recognition. Riding high on winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas, India’s left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, who now has 52 T20I appearances and six ODI caps, has expressed his burning desire to play red-ball cricket.
The 25-year-old was instrumental in helping India end the decade-long ICC title drought with a miserly penultimate over, conceding just 4 runs to strangle the South Africans leaving Hardik Pandya with a cushion of 16 runs to defend in the final over of the chase at the recently held ICC T20 World Cup final in Barbados.
A Heroes Return
Back home after a series of grand receptions in New Delhi and Mumbai, the lanky pacer landed in Chandigarh to a heroic welcome and got a couple of weeks break during which he was treated with all the ‘home-cooked food’ that he was craving for while on tour.
His parents Darshan Singh and Daljeet Kaur have ensured that their younger son gets enough rest before he packs off again for the brief limited over series against Sri Lanka, starting July 27 in Pallekele.
“There’s no substitute to home-cooked food, especially the Rajma chawal (beans curry with rice) that my mom cooks,” said the lanky left-armer in a chat with SportsBoom.com.
The Process in the USA
Arshdeep said the process of preparing for the T20 World Cup began really early, and thus the players in the squad were well-aware of their roles during the marquee tournament, jointly hosted by the United States of America and the West Indies.
“The process started quite early, there were multiple discussions with the captain and coach regarding how we would approach the tournament. We had to plan and strategize accordingly as the conditions in the US were vastly different from those in the Caribbean, with regards the pitches,” he said.
“In the lead-up to the World Cup, we had a couple of bilateral series before the IPL, but the players were more focussed on the process than worrying about the outcome of the series as the focus was solely on the T20 WC. Accordingly, the bowling unit worked on a certain plan, which included trying the slower variations, and fine-tuning the skills before landing in the US. A lot of credit goes to the coaching staff and the captain for preparing us this way,” he explained.
Current India Bowling Unit
Arshdeep also shed light on the current bowling unit spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, and comprises the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya, the seam-bowling all-rounder. He said that the healthy competition within the bunch pushes each other to put in those hard yards and execute the plans in match situations.
Tasked with blowing the crucial 19th over of the World Cup final, the youngster said he was happy to stick to his plans and use his variations effectively to leave as many runs as possible for the final over.
“Ever since I made my debut, I have been tasked with bowling the death overs, so I was used to it. Before that over, Bumrah and Hardik got a couple of wickets and squeezed out the required rate, which set the tone for us. I wanted to ensure that I didn’t leak too many runs, so that we have enough to defend in the final over,” he said.
Country Cricket Pays Dividends
Arshdeep credited the BCCI for pushing him to take up the stint with English county club Kent where he could improve his skills with the red ball as well.
“The Kent stint was a great learning experience for me. Before that, I was more of a T20 specialist relying on the yorker length stuff or the slower ones, but the stint with Kent helped me test myself bowling those longer spells and gave me an idea of hitting those hard lengths. I played a few ODIs in South Africa post that stint, and reaped the results by hitting those lengths and got to move the ball,” he said.
From being a part of the victorious 2018 Under-19 World Cup team to winning the T20 World Cup for the senior team, Arshdeep so far has been a designated white-ball specialist for India. However, deep inside, the Punjab lad has his eyes on breaking into the Test side.
“Playing Test cricket for India has always been the dream ever since I took up the sport. Winning a World Cup is a great feeling in itself but there’s no substitute to don that white jersey and bowl with that red ball. I want to play all three formats for India,” he said.