Arshdeep Singh is India’s leading wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game.
Arshdeep Singh is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is. The left-arm quick has 101 wickets to his name in 65 T20I matches played so far.
Despite his impressive record in the shortest format, Arshdeep was ignored for the first two T20Is of the ongoing five-match series against Australia. In his place, the Indian team management opted to go with Harshit Rana in Canberra and Melbourne.
The Indian team management’s decision to drop Arshdeep has left fans and experts baffled. In fact, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also expressed frustration over Singh’s lack of game time and he urged the team management to include the pacer in the team.
“Arshdeep Singh’s name should be the second name on your fast bowlers’ list if Bumrah is playing. If Bumrah is not playing, Arshdeep becomes your first bowler on that team list. I just cannot understand how Arshdeep Singh keeps missing out from the XI in this side. I don’t really get it. Of course, Harshit Rana had a decent day with the bat. He batted decently but this is not about him at all. It’s about Arshdeep Singh. The performance he put in the T20 World Cup in 2024, after that he has consistently found ways to stay out of the team. He has been benched so many times that he has lost a bit of rhythm,” Ashwin said on the Ash ki Baat show on his YouTube channel.
“We saw in the Asia Cup, he bowled well, he came back very well in the spell but he looked rusty. You champion bowler will look rusty if you don’t play him. So it’s a really tough situation if you are Arshdeep Singh and I really hope he starts getting the place he deserves. He deserves to be there and it’s not about somebody else. He has a place in the team. Please play him,” he added.
During the second T20I at MCG on Friday (October 31), Harshit was the second-highest scorer for India as he chipped in with 35 runs and added a 56-run stand with Abhishek Sharma (68) to propel the visitors to 125/10 in 18.4 overs.
In reply, Australia overhauled the below-par target in just 13.2 overs to take 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
With this victory, the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The third T20I will be played in Hobart on Sunday (November 2).