Ever since the India careers of Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh and Irfan Pathan ended, the national side has not found a left-arm pacer who can compete for a regular spot. Apart from Barinder Sran, Khaleel Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan who shone in Australia last year on debut, and Chetan Sakariya, India has not seen many left-arm pacers pushing for selection. This phase has also coincided with Indian batters looking vulnerable against left-arm pacers, which prompts the question: Why has India not been able to produce good left-arm pacers?

Lately, Punjab’s Arshdeep Singh has done well in Indian Premier League for Punjab Kings, with the new ball as well as in the death overs. For someone bought for a base price of Rs. 20 lakh in 2019 to be retained for Rs. 4 crore for 2022 speaks volumes of how the 22-year-old has risen in esteem and made an impact, especially in the shortest format with his height (6’ 2”) an advantage.

The lanky bowler claims he is not thinking much about the monetary gains achieved through the retention, but is building on and working hard to play for India.

In Ranchi for the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament with the Punjab team, Arshdeep said, “Punjab Kings has given me a great platform to show my bowling abilities and gain confidence in the past seasons. I have picked up so much from my seasoned and experienced team mates. The exposure has helped me as a bowler. When you bowl at established international cricketers like David Warner, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, you want to give your best. I’m going to do what I was doing earlier too, give my best and help win matches. I don’t do much math, not thinking about the money, but living up to the expectations and delivering.”

Arshdeep played 12 matches in IPL 2021, capturing 18 wickets in the season. His overall performance for the franchise has been eye-catching too - 30 wickets in 23 games. A member of India’s U-19 World Cup winning team in 2018, led by Prithvi Shaw and including Shubman Gill, besides pacers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, he has made a steady progress. He was a net bowler on the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year, part of a squad coached by Rahul Dravid with Paras Mhambrey the bowling coach.

“It is wonderful when you have a coach like Dravid sir and even Mhambrey sir. Dravid sir had been our coach when I played for India U-19. So, he has seen me from then. He wants me to constantly make progress and bowl using my natural abilities. Mhambrey sir worked on my run-up and it worked out nicely. Then I bumped into Zaheer Khan paaji in the UAE during IPL. He too gave me some useful inputs. Such exposure helps to become a better bowler,” he said.

Arshdeep was initially guided by his father Darshan Singh, who was a pace bowler at district level. Darshan was employed with the Central Industrial Security Force and would be transferred to different states. To provide his son the best playing facilities and not let him migrate to Canada to build a life like his other son did, Darshan quit his job in 2013 to settle down in Punjab. Since then he his priority has been his son’s cricket.

VRV Singh, former Test pacer and a BCCI Level II coach now, says: “Arshdeep has been outstanding playing in IPL in the last two seasons. The way Punjab Kings have given him the role of bowling in the death overs shows how he has built his game and worked hard on skills. Punjab Kings have depended on him to deliver and he has. With his talent, he can serve India for a long time. If he bowls long spells in Ranji Trophy and in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, he can gain experience and make a case for national selection. He has good height and a great attitude.”

Arshdeep did not feature in the India A squad which is currently playing in South Africa, but is focused on raising his level in domestic cricket. Doing well for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy - it starts on Wednesday - is the first target. “There is a lot of cricket happening this domestic season. I have played just three Ranji matches for Punjab. I want to play more and show my mettle in the longer format too. I just love to run fast and bowl a quick delivery. It gives me a great high when I mark my run-up and come in to bowl. This attitude will keep me going. I want to bowl the quickest,” Arshdeep said.

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