India did not have a host of options to experiment with, resulting in even someone like Barinder Singh Sran being flown in to the ODI tour of Australia in early 2016. Zaheer Khan’s retirement had left a gaping hole in the Indian arsenal and the Men in Blue in fact ended up conceding the option of having a left-arm speedster in their ranks.
Catch live coverage of India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy match here
That was until Arshdeep Singh broke through the scene courtesy of his exploits for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
At just 26, the Punjab pacer has become India’s all-time leading wicket taker in T20Is, due to his 99 scalps in 66 games. Arshdeep has risen the ladder courtesy of his terrific ability to control the line and length with the new ball. But, what has truly set him apart are the accuracy of his yorkers and array of slower deliveries, which he puts to use perfectly with the older ball.
Arshdeep has had limited chances in ODI cricket, playing only nine games, picking 14 wickets at an economy of 5.18.
While the presence of a full throttle pace attack has stunted his presence in 50-overs cricket, presently, the scene wears a completely different look. Jasprit Bumrah is out due to injury and Mohammed Shami’s fitness is patchy since he had just come back from a 14-month-long layoff.
On that note, India can do a world of good with Arshdeep’s inclusion in the playing XI. Currently, the pace attack dons a pretty one-dimensional look. Shami and Harshit Rana are bowlers with different skillsets, but their approaches so far have been fairly similar – looking for movement warly on and delivering slower ones towards the death. Arshdeep can be a breath of fresh air in that sense – hitting the block hole consistently.
Further, his ability to hit the right spots with the new ball go slightly under the radar too. He had struck timely wickets in the match against Pakistan in Melbourne in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 early on, a facet that looked lacking when Pakistan got off to a brief but strong start due to Babar Azam and Imam ul Haq.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting had asserted the same in a recent episode of the ICC Review.
“I would go with the left-armer and I’d go with Arshdeep (to replace Bumrah). We know how good he’s been in T20 cricket and if you think about the skill set, he probably provides a similar skill set to what Bumrah does with new ball and death overs and that’s what India will miss. That’s taking nothing away from Harshit Rana because I think he has got a lot of talent and we know what he can do with the new ball, but I don’t think his death skills are as good as what Arshdeep Singh’s are,” Ponting had remarked.
India have commenced their Champions Trophy campaign positively, and that restricts their desire to make any forced changes into the playing XI. However, a winning team always proactively makes changes to avoid mishaps in the future. To have an asset like Arshdeep sitting on the bench, particularly with the unique left-arm angle he brings into the fold, is arguably a defensive move by the Indian team management.
