There is no other cricketer in history who has more T20 international wickets than Arshdeep Singh. With 99 T20I scalps at an incredible bowling strike rate of 13.23, Arshdeep has already made a name for himself in 63 matches. He is a match-winner and on Wednesday, he was on the verge of becoming the first-ever Indian to complete 100 T20I wickets. But a shocking development occurred as the Suryakumar Yadav-led side benched the left-arm pacer in their opening Asia Cup encounter against the UAE.
Ashwin unhappy with Gambhir
This hasn’t sat well with former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. While speaking on his YouTube channel in a review of India’s demolition of the UAE, Ashwin has put forward his disapproval of Gautam Gambhir dropping Arshdeep. Ashwin mentioned that not playing Arshdeep has been a trend under Gambhir’s coaching.
“It’s surprising that Arshdeep has been dropped, but it’s not a new thing. Has been happening since Gautam Gambhir started coaching. Arshdeep did not play the entire Champions Trophy as well. It has been a bit of a theme. Maybe considering Dubai conditions, they are preferring spinners. When Gambhir won the title for KKR, he was also going all-out on spin,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
So far in 2025, Arshdeep has played just one series for India. It was the five-match series against England before the ICC Champions Trophy. He picked up four wickets in 3 T20Is and two in an ODI. That was it. He travelled Dubai for the Champions Trophy but the likes of Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami played over him. Fascinatingly, Arshdeep was also part of India’s long tour of England for five Tests but he couldn’t find a place there as well. India flew in Anshul Kamboj who wasn’t part of the initial squad but Arshdeep didn’t find a chance.
“This is the theme that we could see until the T20 World Cup. But I doubt this combination can work against a good team. It’s quite risky. Arshdeep is a big performer. He was phenomenal in the World Cup against South Africa. To keep a man like that out for a very long time is going to be hard. I know Shivam Dube took a few wickets, but this is not a bowling combination I would be convinced with,” the 38-year-old added.
Now, despite being India’s leading wicket-taker in the format, Arshdeep had to sit out due to India’s desire to have a deep batting lineup. India played with just three specialist bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy. The three all-rounders were Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube. Dube was the player who just propelled Arshdeep out of the team. Incidentally, Dube did well and took a career-best 3/4 against a hapless UAE side which might just elongate Arshdeep’s wait.
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