Exclusive: T20 World Cup winner Arshdeep Singh hopes to break into India’s Test team

New Delhi: For any cricketer, a Test cap is the ultimate recognition. Riding high on winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas, India’s left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, who now has 52 T20I appearances and six ODI caps, has expressed his burning desire to play red-ball cricket.

The 25-year-old was instrumental in helping India end the decade-long ICC title drought with a miserly penultimate over, conceding just 4 runs to strangle the South Africans leaving Hardik Pandya with a cushion of 16 runs to defend in the final over of the chase at the recently held ICC T20 World Cup final in Barbados.

A Heroes Return

Back home after a series of grand receptions in New Delhi and Mumbai, the lanky pacer landed in Chandigarh to a heroic welcome and got a couple of weeks break during which he was treated with all the ‘home-cooked food’ that he was craving for while on tour.

His parents Darshan Singh and Daljeet Kaur have ensured that their younger son gets enough rest before he packs off again for the brief limited over series against Sri Lanka, starting July 27 in Pallekele.

“There’s no substitute to home-cooked food, especially the Rajma chawal (beans curry with rice) that my mom cooks,” said the lanky left-armer in a chat with SportsBoom.com.

The Process in the USA

Arshdeep said the process of preparing for the T20 World Cup began really early, and thus the players in the squad were well-aware of their roles during the marquee tournament, jointly hosted by the United States of America and the West Indies.

“We had to plan and strategize accordingly as the conditions in the US were vastly different from those in the Caribbean, with regards the pitches,” he said.

“In the lead-up to the World Cup, we had a couple of bilateral series before the IPL, but the players were more focussed on the process than worrying about the outcome of the series as the focus was solely on the T20 WC. Accordingly, the bowling unit worked on a certain plan, which included trying the slower variations, and fine-tuning the skills before landing in the US. A lot of credit goes to the coaching staff and the captain for preparing us this way,” he explained.

Image Credits: Inside Sport

Current India Bowling Unit

Arshdeep also shed light on the current bowling unit spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, and comprises the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya, the seam-bowling all-rounder. He said that the healthy competition within the bunch pushes each other to put in those hard yards and execute the plans in match situations.

Tasked with blowing the crucial 19th over of the World Cup final, the youngster said he was happy to stick to his plans, and use his variations effectively to leave as many runs as possible for the final over.

“Ever since I made my debut, I have been tasked with bowling the death overs, so I was used to it. Before that over, Bumrah and Hardik got a couple of wickets and squeezed out the required rate, which set the tone for us. I wanted to ensure that I didn’t leak too many runs, so that we have enough to defend in the final over,” he said.