India won the T20 World Cup with an eight-match unbeaten run.Rohit Sharma and his boys defeated South Africa in the final on June 29 in Barbados, a game that went down the wire as the Indian bowlers scripted a thrilling comeback win by seven runs.Part of that comeback story was Arshdeep’s bowling, as the left-armer delivered the penultimate over and gave away just four runs to finish with a spell of 2 for 20.
While ‘Player of the Tournament’ Jasprit Bumrah (15 wickets) remained the go-to bowler for his captain, former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja feels that Arshdeep is learning the trade from Bumrah without getting overawed by his stature as the world’s best and the spearhead of Indian bowling.
“All the bowlers in India’s attack played their role (in the T20 World Cup victory), some got hit but most of them delivered good performances with their tight bowling and cleverness on flat tracks that test you bowling quality, credibility and credentials. On that note, the name that first comes up is that of Arshdeep Singh,” Raja said on his YouTube channel ‘Ramiz Speaks’.
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“Bumrah ke hote hue, ye craft seekh bhi rahe hain, par unse dab nahi rahe hain (with Bumrah there, Arshdeep is learning from him and not feeling the pressure because of Bumrah’s presence). It’s very important for him to back himself and prove that he is at par with Bumrah, if not better than him. So to challenge himself that way is very important for Arshdeep’s growth, because if he will compete with the world’s best bowler, then his own bowling will touch the sky,” the former Pakistan batsman, who was part of the 1992 ODI World Cup-winning team, said.
Ramiz was particularly impressed with Arshdeep’s willingness to learn and not let the pressure get to him.
“He comes on to bowl in do-or-die situations (death overs), like if he doesn’t deliver, the team will lose and he might be out of the squad. But he bowls cleverly and to his field, when to bowl length balls, slower balls, can bowl the slower bouncer as well. So he offers a lot of advantage to his team,” said the 62-year-old, who has also served as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board.
The development of Indian pace-bowling unit into one of the world’s best has been the story of the past decade in world cricket, and the resources in Indian domestic circuit continue to improve. For Ramiz, Arshdeep is an example of that.
“The important thing about Indian circuit is that we are witnessing improvement in skill level every six months, not that they fall apart or the performance dips. The skill level is going up and there is a willingness to learn. That’s an important element you see in Arshdeep’s bowling,” he concluded.
