India's star left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is in line to make his Test debut in the upcoming five-Test series against England. Days ahead of the warm-up game, Arshdeep is confident and believes he is the best when he holds the ball. However, with Jasprit Bumrah leading the pace attack, he doesn't think a word like 'comparison' exists.
"Whenever I hold the ball, I always feel that I am the best. But everyone knows—when you’re in an attack that includes a player named Jasprit Bumrah, then the word 'comparison' doesn’t even exist," he said in a video posted by BCCI.tv on June 10.
"So, the focus is on how we can improve each other’s game, each other’s skill sets—and how we can help the team. That’s where my focus lies."
Arshdeep's homecoming away from home
Arshdeep has had experience bowling in England conditions. On the advice of former head coach Rahul Dravid, he had a brief County cricket stint with Kent. Arshdeep said he got a 'homely' feeling coming back to Kent.
"It feels really good to be here. At first, you get that ‘homely’ feeling, that yes, I’ve spent two months here before, so it feels great. I’m really looking forward to creating many more memories here.
"It’s a small place, very peaceful. Not many people around. If you need peace of mind, this is the best place—because there’s always a cool breeze blowing, a soft warmth from the sun, and when you sip hot chocolate in that setting, it’s pure bliss.
"And if you have a sweet tooth, make sure to have some churros with it," said the 26-year-old.
Arshdeep on competitive spirit in nets
Arshdeep who played a crucial role in helping Punjab Kings (PBKS) reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final, said that he wanted to transition well to red-ball cricket. He intends to keep increasing the intensity.
"As for today’s training session, my only motivation was to get a feel for the rhythm -- how the body feels, how the red ball is coming out of the hand -- because all the players have been playing with the white ball for quite a while. So I really enjoyed it," he said.
"Going forward, as we keep progressing step by step, the intensity will keep increasing, and we’ll keep making it more and more difficult for the batters to face the ball."
Arshdeep lauds Gill, Sudharsan
The southpaw bowled to the Indian batters in the nets and the competition he got from them. He feels that captain Shubman Gill and newcomer Sai Sudharsan were in good touch.
"It was fun bowling to the batters. They looked quite compact, and there was a competitive spirit—even though we were just working on rhythm, they were fully competing. So that made it even more fun," he said.
"We had to grind properly and try to get them out with a solid plan. Sai has joined the team for the first time, and he looked very compact too. The skipper looked in good touch. I’ll try my best to keep improving and get them out more often going ahead."