India pacer Arshdep Singh won the Player of the Match award vs USA in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Playing the third match of the tournament, Arshdeep, who had played second fiddle to Jasprit Bumrah till this time, took matters into his own hands and produced a superb spell of 4/9 on Wednesday, 12 June. Former India batter Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on Arshdeep and backed the seamer to play in the Test format soon.
Speaking on Star Sports after USA vs India, Gavaskar said that Arshdeep’s ability to swing the ball both ways was similar to Jasprit Bumrah and that the seamer should be considered for Test cricket soon.
“He looked to bowl at hard lengths, looking to get the ball into the right-hander, and a little away for the left-handers. That’s been his strength, to be able to get both those deliveries on the spot and he wasn’t looking to bowl too many yorkers today, he was looking to bowl the hard lengths. And his temperament is fantastic,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports after the match on Wednesday.
Arshdeep picked two wickets in his first spell and two wickets in his second spell at the Nassau County Stadium in New York and helped India restrict the co-hosts to just 110 runs. Arshdeep’s economical spell turned out to be crucial for Rohit Sharma’s team as batting became extremely difficult during the chase.
Arshdeep can be very good bowler in red-ball cricket: Gavaskar
“I do believe that he, like, Bumrah can be a very, very good bowler in red-ball cricket as well. Because if he can move the white ball so well, just imagine what he can do with the red ball. So I think the selection committee would do very well to look at him as an option for the red-ball game as well,” concluded Gavaskar.
India pacers have done well in the New York leg of the tournament. In the first two matches for India, Jasprit Bumrah earned the POTM, and now it was the turn of Arshdeep Singh to shine. India would hope that the pacers continue their domination as they fly out to Florida for their final group-stage match and then to the Caribbean Islands for the Super 8 stages of the tournament.