India vs South Africa: Irfan Pathan wants Arshdeep Singh to play all matches in the T20I series - He keeps Dhoni, Hardik quiet
India Today
Arshdeep Singh picked up 10 wickets from 14 matches for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Former fast bowler Irfan Pathan said that Arshdeep Singh should take part in all the matches in the upcoming T20I series against South Africa. The 23-year-old Arshdeep has grown leaps and bounds since he made his debut for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the 2022 edition of the T20 tournament, Singh picked up 10 wickets from 14 matches at an economy rate of 7.70. Thereafter, the left-armer was picked to play against the Proteas along with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer Umran Malik.
Pathan accepted that Singh didn’t get a whole lot of wickets, but lauded him for keeping the likes of Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni on their toes. The veteran also said that Arshdeep has the temperament to thrive under pressure.
"If you see the IPL numbers in terms of the wickets, the matches are more and the wickets are less, still the selectors backed him and picked him in the squad. There is a reason for that, he keeps the best batters quiet, when he bowls at the death, he keeps Dhoni, Hardik Pandya quiet, bowls consistent yorkers against the set batters," Pathan was quoted as saying.
"You picked a left-arm bowler in your squad based on some thinking, because left is always right. So play him all the matches and he is a bowler who raises his hand for his team whenever there is a difficult situation, that he will bowl the yorkers and try to pick up wickets," he added.
In 37 IPL matches, Arshdeep has picked up 40 wickets at an economy rate of 8.35 with one five-wicket haul to show for his efforts.
India’s T20I series against Temba Bavuma and Co. are scheduled to get underway on Thursday, June 9 with the opening match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
