On July 7, Arshdeep Singh had a dream start to his international career against England. After his LBW appeal was turned down as it was going down the leg, the youngster tested Jason Roy and almost got his man on the last ball of the over.
Arshdeep Singh also broke a 16-year-old record. He became the first Indian bowler to bowl a maiden in their debut T20I over since 2006, when Jhulan Goswami and Ajit Agarkar did it in India’s first women’s T20I (vs England at Derby, August 2006) and first men’s T20I (vs south Africa at Johannesburg, December 2006).
Arshdeep returned with an impressive spell of 2 for 18 in India’s thumping 50-run win over England at Southampton. He got the wickets of Reece Topley and Matt Parkinson to cap a commanding win for India.
After IPL Arshdeep named to the 18-man squad for T20I
Following his strong performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the 23-year-old was named to the 18-man squad for the upcoming five-match T20I home series against South Africa. After his excellent first over Arshdeep Singh is getting praise from the cricketing community. His Punjab Kings teammate Kagiso Rabada, a South African star, calls him the “best death-over bowler in the competition”. His captain Mayank Agarwal made him the “leader of the bowling group”. His childhood coach Jaswant Rai says his ward is a “quick learner.”
Second-best death-overs economy rate of any bowler
Arshdeep bagged only 10 wickets in 14 IPL games but his real value comes when batsmen put pedal to metal in the last phase of the innings. Arshdeep Singh has the second-best death-overs economy rate (7.58) of any bowler with at least eight overs this season. Only the Test-capped Jasprit Bumrah (7.38) has done better.
Arshdeep has shown that pace is not everything in T20 cricket. It is not that he can’t bowl at 140 kmph. Though not an express quick, he managed to outsmart some of the cleanest strikers of the game.
India will play the second T20I against England in Birmingham on July 9.
