Image Credit- AP
The T20I bowler Arshdeep Singh has had a busy 12
months. No other Indian bowler has taken more wickets (29 at an average of
24.00 with an economy of 9.07) or played more Twenty20 International matches
than Arshdeep (23) since January 2023.
However, his performances haven’t always been steady.
In a Twenty20 International match against Sri Lanka, he scored 37 runs in two
overs in the start of 2023. Towards the end of the year, he took 2 for 13 in
two overs in an ODI against South Africa.
“It’s been a mixed bag, these last 12
months,” Arshdeep said ahead of the third and final T20I against
Afghanistan in Bengaluru. “There have been good performances, some average
ones. I’d say that I have learned a lot and that experience is helping my game
get a lot better.
“I am quite grateful that I am getting this
experience, I have been getting a lot of backing from the support staff, from
the team. I just want to reduce the ups and downs and be more consistent with
my performances and get better results for my team.”
Arshdeep pondered whether he “would be the
culprit of the game” during his most recent visit to Bengaluru for a
Twenty20 international. In the end, he proved to be the hero, helping India win
the five-match series 4-1 by defending nine runs in the last over against
Australia.
India and Afghanistan are playing each other in a
three-match series that started 2-0, therefore it was and remains a dead
rubber. Arshdeep and India, however, don’t care about the score because this is
their final Twenty20 international match before the World Cup in June.
“Our mindset as a team isn’t what the series
scoreline is, or what has happened in the previous match,” he said.
“Our motive is to determine what the conditions will be like in the
matches ahead of us and how quickly we can adapt to the pitch and get used to
the grounds.
“It’s not as if it’s a 2-0 score or the series is
done, that’s not our aim. Our aim is to improve our game one-two percent after
every game and develop new skills.”
One of those skills is a new delivery he has been
developing. “I have been working on a new ball, which will be beneficial
on slower wickets,” Arshdeep said. “I tried that ball in the last
match against the lefties, the ball that moves away after pitching like a
leg-cutter. I want to develop more confidence and use that ball more in
matches.”