Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Arshdeep rises up the ranks

In the absence of Bumrah, the leftarmer stepped up in fine style at the T20 WC in Australia

- Vivek Krishnan vivek.krishnan@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: Post mortems after a disappoint­ing World Cup campaign are necessary as long as they don’t get all-pervasive. In the urge for sweeping changes, inevitable when a team is at the receiving end of a 10-wicket hammering, it is essential to remember that there were a few positive aspects too.

Yes, India’s batting approach needs an urgent reboot and the bowling has to acquire more bite going forward, but amidst the doom and gloom, let’s acknowledg­e the emergence of Arshdeep Singh.

With ten wickets in six matches, the 23-year-old leftarm pacer from Punjab finished fifth on the list of highest wickettake­rs in the T20 World Cup (Super 12 stage onwards). More admirably, in a campaign where India had to make do without the services of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep took on the role of the lead bowler as if he had been doing this all along.

In Bhuvneshwa­r Kumar and Mohammed Shami, skipper Rohit Sharma had two far more practiced operators up his sleeve, but it was Arshdeep that he often turned to when a breakthrou­gh was needed.

Take the rain-curtailed game in Adelaide against Bangladesh, who needed 52 runs from the last five overs with eight wickets in hand. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan was at the crease, and so the possibilit­y of a Bangladesh win was still high. Sharma gave the ball to Arshdeep with the game on a knife’s edge, and he was vindicated with two wickets in an over that went for only two runs.

The left-armer bowled three of the last five overs that day, eking out a five-run win with sound execution at the death. That Arshdeep was the bowler who delivered four overs — only one could bowl four due to the Bangladesh innings being reduced to 16 overs — told you all you need to know about India’s faith in the youngster.

“Whatever I’ve seen, he has obviously got potential and talent. He has proven his worth in the Indian team,” said former India pacer Aavishkar Salvi, who was appointed coach of Punjab — the domestic team that Arshdeep represents — in September.

“The way he has integrated himself into the dynamics over there, that is amazing. The way he is handling the pressure whenever he is given challenges, we have seen the results. He is definitely a long-term prospect for India and I am sure he is going to do wonders.”

If that game against Bangladesh reiterated his death-bowling skills, a newer facet of his game was highlighte­d in the opener against Pakistan: the ability to swing the ball both ways. Till the series against South Africa just before the World Cup, he hadn’t shown his repertoire with the new Kookaburra. But there he was, at the biggest stage of all, in front of 95,000 screaming spectators, trapping Babar Azam with an inswinger with his first ball of the World Cup. In case we forget, Arshdeep must have been facing additional pressure from the trolling that was directed towards him for dropping a catch against the arch-rivals in an Asia Cup encounter in September.

Arshdeep has only played 19 T20IS for India so far and is yet to feature in Tests or ODIS. But given that he is a left-arm pacer who can move the ball either way with no discernibl­e change in his wrist position, Salvi is convinced that Arshdeep can make the grade across formats.

“I definitely think he is a prospect in 50-over cricket and Tests too. The way he is swinging the ball and exploiting the conditions offered to him...whatever the game demands, he is providing the solution. He has all the skills. (Bowling coach) Paras (Mhambrey) has been my mentor too when I was a youngster. Whatever we are seeing is a byproduct of the work he must be putting in,” Salvi said. “I don’t see much change in his action. It’s just a subtle thing. If a batter notices it, he notices it. But there are no obvious cues. It makes things difficult for a batter.”

Former India fast bowler L Balaji, who played 8 Tests, 30 ODIS and 5 T20IS, concurred. “Definitely he has got the potential to play all three formats. Tests will allow him to grow as a bowler even further and develop his skills.”

Another noticeable feature of Arshdeep’s repertoire is his clever use of the short ball. Though he doesn’t possess genuine pace, he is sharp enough to hurry batters on the backfoot. It was evident in the manner that he dismissed Mohammad Rizwan, who was late on the pull and caught at fine leg.

“He has those three lengths that a fast bowler needs to succeed at any level,” Salvi summed up succinctly.

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