Death specialist Arshdeep ready to be India's quiet killer

Arshdeep Singh, the pace sensation from Punjab who has earned his maiden call-up to the national team on the back of yet another stellar show for the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League. Despite being under the shadows of the likes of Mohammed Shami and then South African Kagiso Rabada in the ongoing season, the left-armer has made a mark for himself as a death-over specialist over the past couple of seasons for the Punjab franchise, to finally find himself in the 18-member India squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, next month. The 10 wickets from 14 games in IPL 2022 may not reveal his true potential, but Arshdeep’s death-overs economy rate of 7.58 is only behind Jasprit Bumrah (7.38) for bowlers with at least eight overs this season.

The 23-year-old left-armer has earned the tag of being the ‘leader of the bowling group’ from his Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal while Rabada has called him the ‘best death over bowler in the competition’. Not the one to be flattered by the tags, Arshdeep knows that those are short-lived and only consistent performances will help him leave a mark. “It feels good to be praised but I just want to maintain my consistency, as that will leave a long term impact.

With dedication and hard work, you can achieve everything, no matter how challenging the circumstances are,” Arshdeep said during his visit to his alma-mater, Guru Nanak Public School, at Sector 36. “Whether I play or not, it is a team game. The team has to win.