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Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan believes that the Men in Blue can require the services of Arshdeep Singh in their upcoming Asia Cup clash against Pakistan. He pointed out how Arshdeep is the only Indian bowler apart from Jasprit Bumrah who can consistently bowl yorkers and make it hard for the opposing batters to score runs.
"I will stick to my words, what I said before the start of Asia Cup. I would want to see Arshdeep play with Bumrah because a situation could come where yopu might need a second fast bowler," Pathan said in a discussion on Sony Sports.
"When the ball gets wet and you are under pressure, is Hardik's (Pandya) strength bowling six yorkers, or can Shivam Dube bowl those yorkers consistently," he added.
However, Pathan also admitted that with the Indian team currently being on a winning streak, the team management may not make changes to the playing XI and go ahead with the same bowling combination that they used in their previous match against Pakistan in the tournament.
"There will be a question there. That is why, can you think about Arshdeep? However, it is difficult to change a team that has been playing and winning. You wouldn't want to play a batter less as well. It is a tough decision. I would have done differently, but the team is thinking differently," Pathan stated.
Arshdeep played in the match against Oman
Arshdeep wasn't given a place in India's playing XI for their first two matches of Asia Cup that were against UAE and Pakistan respectively, but did feature in the team's final group stage fixture against Oman. The left-arm seamer recorded figures of 1/37 in his four-over spell and became the first Indian bowler to clinch 100 wickets in the shortest format.
Meanwhile, though the team management is likely to pick the spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel for the match against Pakistan, they might be forced to make a change in the bowling combination due to Axar's injury. Notably, the left-arm spinner was hit badly hit on his head while fielding during the match against Oman and was taken off the field by the physio. He only bowled a single over during the match and didn't take the field again following the injury. This can open the doors for Arshdeep to make it to the playing XI for the all-important match against Pakistan.
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