Arshdeep Singh at 22 years old is already Team India’s designated death-over specialist in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. With 9 scalps in 4 games, he is India’s highest wicket-taker in the marquee event.
Against Bangladesh on Sunday (November 02), Arshdeep took the crucial wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Afif Hossain in the second over to shift the momentum entirely towards India after Litton Das (60 off 27 balls) got the Bangla Tigers off to a flier with his scintillating knock.
He was handed the responsibility of bowling the last over with 20 runs to defend and eventually the Shakib-led side lost the match by 5 runs.
Former Pakistan cricketers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Malik praised the young seamer for his meteoric rise.
According to Akram, arguably the greatest left-arm seamer to ever play the game, the Indian youngster has a bright future.
“He's got 9 wickets in the tournament, so far. The most in Super 12. Uska talent maine aur Waqar ne toh Asia Cup me hi dekh liya tha. Jiss tareeke se vo ball ko swing karta hai, naya ball dono taraf. He's got a bright future, sensible bowler hai, yorker achha karta hai aur slow ball bhi achhi hai. Do wickets jo usne liye hai, usne match ka paasa palat diya.
(Waqar and I saw his talent in the Asia Cup. He can swing the ball both ways. He's got a bright future, he's sensible, can bowl yorkers and slow ball. The two wickets he took changed the course of the game),” Akram said on A Sports.
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Malik commended Arshdeep's self-belief and added that he was unfazed by a forgettable performance and dropped catch in the Asia Cup.
“Asia Cup me badi crunch situation me usne run bhi diye, catch bhi drop kiya, par confidence nahi neeche gaya uska. Aapse kharaab performance hogi, lekin kabhi bhi ye naa bhoolein ki aap apni ability se aaye hain.
(He scored runs at crunch situations in Asia Cup, dropped catch too, but didn't lose his confidence. Your performance will go down, but you shouldn't forget that you came here due to your abilities.),” said Malik.
To this, Akram said, “India me isko social media pe udaaya gaya hai ((He was trolled on social media in India, but he said), but he said I'm not bothered. Ye attitude bada zaroori hai (This attitude is important)."
Malik continued by saying that the credit for the 22-year-old’s rise should be given to the Indian team management.
“Credit goes to the management who backed him. Credit goes to the captain. Usko pata hai iss se maar padegi, iss se catch bhi drop honge, but usko pata hai ye hamaara best player hai aur isko back karna hai,” he added.
(A SPORTS INPUTS)
