Former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has claimed that Arshdeep Singh might make his India Test debut during the upcoming tour of Australia later this year if the team management plays four-seamers.
India is slated to tour Australia for a series of five Tests for the first time since 1992. The series will begin with the first Test in Perth on November 22. The second Test will be a D/N affair and will be played in Adelaide from December 6 onwards.
The third Test will begin on December 14 in Brisbane and the fourth Test, the Boxing Day match will begin on December 26 in Melbourne. The fifth and final Test will be the New Year’s Test in Sydney from January 3 onwards.
Arshdeep is yet to make his Test debut, but he has surely made a mark in the T20I format with an impressive 2024 T20 World Cup campaign with the joint-most wickets in the tournament - 17. He has a total of 79 wickets in 52 T20Is for India.
Observing Arshdeep's development up close, former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey believes the left-arm pacer has a chance of making the India Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year in Australia.
"It depends on the conditions. Maybe in Australia, if we play four seamers, he has a chance. To get one in India will be very difficult at the moment. But I feel he just needs a little more game time in first-class cricket, just to get control over his swing and also know how to use reverse-swing, which will be very handy. He has the swing that works for him. It is about maintaining fitness and working on it," Mhambrey told Indian Express.
Mhambrey heaped praise on Arshdeep for handling the pressure and stepping up on big occasions for India in the shortest format.
"He has shown good maturity in terms of his plans in T20s. Be it bowling in the Powerplay or at the death, he has full clarity. If you look at his body language, he is pushing, and that is a big plus. He is ready to handle pressure," he added.
Considering that Arshdeep has only played six ODIs to date, Mhambrey went on to say that his expertise in T20Is will aid in his transition to the 50-over format.
"You can see his potential in T20s and the idea was to make him a regular in the format and then make the progression to ODIs. We wanted him to play as much first-class cricket as possible just to get control over his skill set," he added.
