ARSHDEEP'S SWELLING INFLUENCE

Left-arm pacer has been the standout for India in the ongoing WC

-  GOMESH S

WHEN Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the 2022 T20 World Cup at the last moment due to back injury, there was a massive void in the Indian pace department. India had Mohammed Shami, who had played every T20 WC since 2014, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya, but the question was who among them was going to step up to be the imposing wicket-taker. The answer, however, was somewhere else - Arshdeep Singh.

Flown under the radar in the 2018 U-19 pace factory, the leftarm pacer had risen through the ranks rapidly since. After a stellar IPL in 2022, he became a starter in the Indian XI. While sharing a new ball with Bumrah is one thing, but to lead the way in his absence is completely another. The young left-arm pacer set the tone up front with a three-fer against Pakistan. He followed it up with two wickets each against Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh and a lone scalp against Zimbabwe. The only game where he went wicketless was in the semifinal against England.