India's T20I speciallist with just seven first-class matches under his belt is set to represent Kent in the upcoming English County season in an attempt to fine-tune his skills with the red-ball. Arshdeep will be the fourth Indian player to represent Kent in County Cricket. Kanwar Shumshere Singh was the first to don the White Horse followed by Dravid and fast bowler Navdeep Saini.
Arshdeep revealed that he was nudged towards the decision by head coach Rahul Dravid as the left-arm pacer said, "I am excited to play red-ball cricket in England and continue to improve my skills in the first-class game," Arshdeep said. "Rahul Dravid has already told me it is a club with a great history."
Kent’s Director of Cricket, Paul Downton, said: “We’re delighted to have a player of Arshdeep’s potential join us for five matches this summer.
“He has demonstrated that he has world class skills with the white ball, and I am very confident he will be able to put those skills to good use with the red ball in the County Championship.”
He will make his County debut on June 11 against Surrey. He will play a total of five games before flying back to India.
From seven first-class games, the 24-year-old picked up 25 wickets at an average of 23.84 including one fifer. His T20I numbers have been impressive with the exception of several no balls which have turned out to be expensive. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer has 41 wickets from 26 T20Is. In the ODI format, he is yet to open his wicket account.
Arshdeep made his T20I debut on the back of a brilliant season for PBKS in Indian Premier League (IPL). He took 18 wickets from 12 games in IPL 2021 season. In the next season, he could take only 10 wickets but had a better economy rate.
He made his T20I debut against England in July 2022 and bowled economically in addition to two wickets of tailenders. In the absence of tear away pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep also featured in T20 World Cup 2022 where India were knocked out by eventual champions England.
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