Jasprit Bumrah, Team India's pace spearhead, was ruled out from the T20 World Cup 2022 due to a back injury, which came as a big blow just days before Team India was scheduled to leave for Australia.
Due to a knee injury, he sustained during the Asia Cup 2022, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was also forced to withdraw from the showpiece tournament.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri had made a statement that the absence of Jadeja and Bumrah will give the Indian team the chance to discover a new match-winner. The team has indeed unearthed a champion player in the young left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh.
All of 22 years old and yet Arshdeep has emerged as Rohit Sharma’s go-to man in the death overs in the absence of Bumrah in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. With 9 wickets in 4 games, he is India’s highest wicket-taker in the ongoing major event in Australia.
This performance has earned him a lot of praise from current and former cricketers. The latest to praise the youngster is the India veteran Shikhar Dhawan who called the left-arm seamer a ‘match winner’.
“He is a match-winner. If you see, he won the game for India against Bangladesh in the last over. Of course, he is very skillful but he also has great self-belief,” said Dhawan to India Today.
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The 36-year-old compared Arshdeep to a young Virat Kohli and stated that for his age, the young pacer is really mature.
“He is a youngster but he is very mature. It’s not important to be old to be mature. For example, Virat Kohli was very mature from a young age. As an individual, you should know your strengths and work on it. Arshdeep’s self-belief is very strong,” he added.
He went on to describe how Arshdeep used the criticism he had received following a dropped catch during the Asia Cup to his benefit.
“Even when he dropped the catch against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, a lot of people criticized him. But he didn’t let that dent his self-confidence. He channelized that energy and used it for his benefit. That is what champions do,” he stated.
Insisting that the current players are more self-confident than previous generations, he continued by saying that the IPL has greatly aided the future Indian stars.
“In the IPL, all these youngsters get a chance to share the dressing room with world-class players, not just Indian players but overseas players. When these youngsters perform well and realize that they can perform even in a team full of international players, that gives them confidence. I’ve noticed the young players coming in are more confident compared to the earlier generations. Compared to the time when I made my India debut, self-belief has risen a lot. These young players get so much exposure, so I think the IPL has benefitted Indian cricket,” he remarked.
The Men in Blue will face Zimbabwe in their final Super 12 encounter on Sunday (November 06), before moving to the semifinals.
(INDIA TODAY INPUTS)
