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Manchester: India’s Arshdeep Singh during a practice session ahead of the fourth test cricket match between India and England, at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, in Manchester. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI07_22_2025_000376B)
TimesofIndia.com in Manchester: India are very likely to hand a Test debut to Arshdeep Singh in the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The seamer has recovered from the hand injury which needed stitches and bowled at full tilt in the optional net session today.It is understood that the management had him in the plans for the last two Tests, but his injury made him unavailable in Manchester. With Arshdeep very likely to get into the XI, India’s bowling combination is set to be rejigged once again.Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep are likely to be the other two seamers, and a late call could be taken, if needed, on Jasprit Bumrah.“Playing red-ball cricket for the country is the ultimate dream of any cricketer. The same is with Arshdeep,” Arshdeep’s childhood coach Jaswant Rai tells TimesofIndia.com.“Wo pak chuka hai (He is ripe now). He should get a chance to play with the red ball. He can bring the balance that India has been looking for so long.“He has patiently done the hard yards, and I might sound biased, but he deserves the Test cap. If not in England, then where?”With his incredible skill to swing the ball both ways and his dexterity to hit the 6m length consistently, Arshdeep Singh is arguably the best of his type India has had since Zaheer Khan.Only time will tell how well he is going to do at the Oval, but one thing is certain—he won’t have a jersey fear.
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The 25-year-old has already played 63 T20Is and nine ODIs, and is a World Cup winner. Arshdeep was one of India’s heroes in the T20 World Cup, the tournament’s joint-leading wicket-taker with 17 dismissals to his name. It was he who bowled the 19th over in their famous T20 World Cup victory and kept things tight, conceding just 4 runs to strangle the South Africans in the final.“Asli pressure toh paanch din waala hota hai (Real pressure is playing in the five-day game),” he told TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad, when asked about the pressure of an IPL final.Even before the selection for the England tour, his eyes were set, and in the past one month, he has worked hard on his bowling with bowling coach Morne Morkel keeping a close eye.The fifth Test between India and England will start on Thursday.
