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He may not have got a chance to play during the Test series in England, but this 26-year-old Punjabi man further honed his skills there. Let’s know his unique story, which inspires!
Injury stopped, but did not break spirit
Arshdeep was expected to debut in the England Test series, but he injured his left thumb during practice before the Manchester Test. Due to this he was out of the series.
After this, he took advantage of this time and worked hard on his bowling, strength, and conditioning.
Arshdeep said, “In the last few months with the [Test] team, I trained a lot and bowled and also worked on my strength and conditioning.”
Showed strength in Duleep Trophy
When Arshdeep came out for North Zone in the quarter-finals of Duleep Trophy, he dominated from day one. His balls kept troubling the batsmen in the outer corridor.
The change in speed and accurate length showed that he is ready for any challenge. He last bowled for Punjab Kings in the IPL final, and even after such a long gap, his rhythm was amazing.
Arshdeep said, “More overs, strength work and training, so that whenever you get a chance, you are ready to play and fully fit.”
Learning from senior, made boredom fun
In England, Arshdeep also took some special tips from senior bowler Mohammad Siraj. Siraj told him that many times there is a boring phase in red-ball cricket, like the post-lunch session, when the ball does not do anything special.
Siraj’s mantra was, “How you enjoy the phase when nothing is happening determines how successful you can be in red-ball cricket.” This tip gave Arshdeep new motivation.
Arshdeep now has his eyes set on next month’s T20 Asia Cup. “During the last Test [at the Oval], I started training with the white ball. The workload was managed properly,” he says.
He is India’s top wicket-taker in T20Is with 99 wickets, and his hard work will take him to greater heights.