India's left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh did not get to make his Test debut in England. After proving his mettle in white-ball cricket, Arshdeep was expected to have a go with the red ball on England tour but it didn't happen. Instead, Anshul Kamboj, who was not part of the original squad made his Test debut in Manchester as Arshdeep suffered an injury in the nets. Weeks after the five-Test series ended in a draw, Punjab bowling coach Gagandeep Singh, who is current with the team in Chennai for the Buchi Babu tournament, revealed that the pacer was getting impatient on not getting a chance.
“A few months ago when he was in England, I spoke to him. He was getting impatient that he was not getting a chance. I just told him, ‘You’ve to wait for your time’. I think they should’ve played him in England because he’s a swing bowler and he’s tall, everything’s good. I don’t know the team combinations, probably the coach (Gautam Gambhir) and captain (Shubman Gill) weren’t confident about him,” Gagandeep told TOI.
What Arshdeep needs to do better?
Arshdeep will play a huge role in the upcoming T20 Asia Cup 2025. He is currently India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 99 scalps. Coach Gagandeep wishes to see Arshdeep and give him a few tips before he boards the flight for UAE.
“He can be a better bowler with more swing and more accuracy. I haven’t seen him in the last few months, but hopefully when I do, I can assess him better. From the recent matches that I have observed, he can work more on line and length, yorker balls, and especially bouncers, which are the more effective deliveries in international cricket,” Gagandeep said.
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The 26-year-old has been a mainstay in T20Is but not a regular in ODIs with just nine ODI caps. Despite County stint, he waits for his chance in red-ball cricket. So far, he has played 21 first-class games and played 66 wickets at an average of 30.37, including two fifers.
When Gagandeep first coached Arshdeep
Gagandeep recalls how he helped him get out of T20 mindset for red-ball cricket and improve his wrist position, line and length. He wants him to look for more swing.
“When I joined the Punjab team, Arshdeep had just come off a season of playing primarily T20 cricket. Arshdeep, at that point, was bowling wide of the stumps and relying heavily on slower deliveries. But in redball cricket, that approach doesn’t work. So, our focus was on tightening his line and length, spot bowling, and improving wrist position. We worked on ensuring that the ball landed on the seam more consistently to encourage natural swing, rather than relying on cutters,” said the Punjab bowling coach.
India will begin their T20 Asia Cup 2025 campaign against United Arab Emirates on September 10. India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan and Oman.