Team India’s promising pacer, Arshdeep Singh, has shared the names of his childhood cricketing heroes. Unsurprisingly for a left-arm fast bowler, he drew immense inspiration from the legendary Pakistani speedster Wasim Akram and India’s own bowling maestro, Zaheer Khan.
Reflecting on his early days, Arshdeep revealed on ‘Breakfast with Champions,’ “I don’t think I’ve missed any left-arm pacers’ videos available on YouTube.” He particularly enjoyed watching compilations of Wasim Akram’s Yorkers. “In all the videos, he was only hitting the stumps. A left-arm seamer bowling those in-swingers and reverse swing to right-handed batters, I used to enjoy it a lot… what a skill he had,” he fondly recalled.
Arshdeep also turns to videos of Zaheer Khan when he’s focused on mastering reverse swing. He emphasized the dedication required for such a skill, stating that even Lasith Malinga’s interviews highlight that it’s not something learned overnight. “My father and my coach have told me that the more you practice it, the more you will achieve mastery in it. If you are bowling with 80% effort in practice, it becomes half of that in a match,” he explained.
Despite playing only two matches in the recent Asia Cup, Arshdeep achieved a significant milestone, becoming the first Indian pacer to claim 100 wickets in T20 cricket. He made his T20I debut in July 2022 against England and reached this century of wickets in just three years and 74 days.
Arshdeep’s statistics underscore his versatility: he has taken 43 wickets during the powerplay phase in T20Is, boasting an impressive average of 20.06 and an economy rate of 7.50. This makes him the leading wicket-taker in powerplays since his debut. Equally adept at the crucial death overs, he has secured 48 wickets in that phase.
Furthermore, 38 of Arshdeep’s 100 T20 wickets have come against left-handed batters, a remarkable feat that stands as the highest for any bowler since his international debut. His performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup was particularly fruitful, where he bagged 17 wickets in eight innings, showcasing his burgeoning talent on the global stage.