Remember how everyone was outraged when during the England Tests, pacer Arshdeep Singh was not getting chances. Cut to the Asia Cup 2025, the bowler is India’s highest wicket-taker in the T20I format, with 99 scalps to his name, and he still sits out of the playing XI, even in the match against minnows UAE.
Arshdeep Singh could be left out again
What explains that? Perhaps there would have been answers if the ploy to sit out Arshdeep had failed. But here, an unlikely bowler/all-rounder Shivam Dube, who in the last three editions of the IPL has bowled only three overs altogether, ended up with his career best figures of 3/4.
How do you incorporate Arshdeep Singh in the playing XI? The next match for India in the Asia Cup is against Pakistan on September 14, and given their weakness against spin, in all probability, the team will field Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy together. Jasprit Bumrah becomes the pacer spearhead, and with Hardik Pandya as the other pacer.. no slot is left.
Of course, Dube can come in to bowl an odd over, if needed. Call it misfortune for players, but this just shows Team India’s strength in all departments. Even UAE coach Lalchand Rajput admitted in the post-match conference, that it is still a formidable Indian bowling, without Arshdeep.
Is there a place vacant?
“If Arshdeep Singh can’t make it to playing XI, you can imagine how formidable Indian bowling attack is. Our boys were overawed by some of the big names of Indian cricket,” he said. Now, what that means is, Arshdeep could well have been the first from the country to bag 100 wickets in the format, but then two others might get ahead of him, due to no match time.
Bumrah has 90 in 71 matches, while Pandya has 94 in 115 matches. But then, perhaps even Arshdeep might not be complaining for now, with the others just doing the job perfectly in his absence.
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