‘He has played County cricket, he knows the conditions there': Ricky Ponting bats for Arshdeep Singh to be included in India's playing XI vs England in 1st Test
Former Australia captain and current Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting said that PBKS pacer Arshdeep Singh should be slotted into the playing XI of the 1st England vs India Test at Headingley, set to start on June 20. Ponting feels that Arshdeep, who has played county cricket will be familiar with the conditions in the United Kingdom.
'I would actually have him in their Test team at the start (of the England series). He's very skillful, he has played County cricket, he knows the conditions there and the Dukes Ball will help him in the UK as well,' he said.
'To have that point of difference, having a left-armer in your team, will be something that if India don't do it then it'll be a bit of a surprise to me.' 'As we know in England the ball still swings (be it) 30, 40 or 50 overs old. To have someone that's got that swing bowling ability and a left-armer, (it) is something that the Indian team should definitely look out for on that tour,' he added.
Post his T20I debut for India in 2022, Arshdeep, now 26, has become India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 99 scalps in 63 games. But he has played only 12 matches for Punjab at the first-class level with 39 wickets at an average of 12.
In 2023, after a 17-wicket IPL season, the left-arm pacer signed for English county Kent and played five first-class matches picking up 13 wickets at an average of 41.76 with his best figures of 3 for 58.
Last year, Arshdeep took 20 wickets for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and it was his five-wicket haul against Mumbai in which he picked up the wickets of Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav that led Rai to believe that his ward was making progress in red-ball cricket too. Arshdeep would carry Dukes and Kookaburra balls in his kit bag and practise with them whenever he got a chance.
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