Left-arm fast bowler Arzan Nagwaswalla was over the moon when he received the news of his selection as a standby to Indian squad for the England tour on Friday (May 7).
“I called up mom and dad the first thing after I came to senses. I was so excited. I couldn’t have stopped on the road because Covid-19 protocols don’t allow you to step out of the car,” Nagwaswalla told IANS in an exclusive chat.
When the team was announced, Nagwaswalla was returning from Delhi where he was a net bowler with the Mumbai Indians in the suspended 2021 edition of IPL.
A number of calls, congratulatory messages and interview requests from the media took a heavy toll on the youngster.
“I was exhausted. By the end of it, I was so tired that I could barely pick calls and talk,” said Nagwaswalla.
“I did not expect the call. Everyone has confidence that I would get through one day or the other. I also had that confidence. [But] this was very unexpected and surprising,” he further stated.
Nagwaswalla believes being a left-armer might have worked in his favour.
“Maybe because I am a left-arm fast bowler [I was picked]. I am young. That is the only thing. Also, my last season went well,” he said.
Reflecting on his stint with Mumbai Indians, Nagwaswalla said: “It was a great experience. I got an opportunity to bowl to some good batsmen. I spoke to Zaheer [Khan] sir. If I would have remained at home, nothing would have happened because of the lockdown. So, it was great that I could practice and kept doing training.”
Speaking further on the learnings from Indian pace legend Zaheer Khan, Nagwaswalla said: “He didn’t do much on the bowling aspect. He said it is fine. He said that if you train well, you will see more benefit in your bowling. He asked me to train well. He told me certain technical things.”
“I was left-handed. That was my advantage. We didn’t have too many left-armers in our district or even state level. I used to watch Zaheer and I got interested in bowling fast.”
Talking about his exploits in domestic cricket, Arzan Nagwaswalla has claimed 62 first-class wickets in just 16 matches at an average of 22.53 while he has 39 scalps to his name from 20 List A matches and 21 wickets from 15 T20 matches.
(With IANS inputs)
