Not just the fans, players of Team India were also keenly following the South Africa vs West Indies game, and the result of which had direct link to India’s chances of qualifying to the semis of the T20 World Cup 2026. India vs Zimbabwe being an evening game on Thursday, Arshdeep Singh and his family were following the action from the South Africa vs West Indies game back in their hotel room in Chennai.
Apart from mentally getting ready for the match which was few hours away, Arshdeep had to calm his dad while they were watching the South Africa vs West Indies clash. “I said, it’s okay, don’t worry, just enjoy the match, and hope that South Africa wins, and we win both our matches well.”
Arshdeep has been brilliant with the new ball and is enjoying the rhythm at which he is bowling. “I am enjoying my rhythm right now and just trying to keep
things simple and enjoy it as well. Some days are good, some days are bad, so I am just
making peace with it and enjoying it. I am trying to control the number of bad balls, so yeah, mainly that,” Arshdeep was quoted as saying.
Against Zimbabwe, he picked three wickets to become India’s top wicket-taker in T20 World Cups. Moreover, Arshdeep is not bothered to bowl on batting tracks as long as Indian batters are scoring runs.
“As long as our batsmen are enjoying batting on that wicket, we are more than happy. If we get a run, it’s not a problem, but the way our gameplay has been for the past two years, we score a lot and try to defend it,” Arshdeep said.
“So as long as we keep getting wickets where the batsmen can play freely, because we bat up to the 8th number, so as long as they get that freedom from the wickets and they can make runs freely, we are more than happy to do the dirty job and that’s it,” he added.
Arshdeep has transformed into a skilled new ball bowler in the T20 format and enjoys the challenge to shoulder the pace attack along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
“It’s great, it’s fun. As a youngster, it’s your dream to play for India, and if you get a chance in the World Cup, it’s a lot of fun,” he said.
“If you get to bowl two overs in powerplay, then the chance is that you’ll get a lot of wickets, because the batsmen look to make runs at that time. So how can I be proactive, one step ahead of the batsmen, and how can I adapt according to the conditions, how can I change my gameplay?
So I’m working on that, with Morne (Morkel), and I have some great bowling partners,
whether it’s Mohammed Siraj or Jasprit Bumrah, and with the new ball, there’s Hardik bhai as well,” added Arshdeep.
Once off the field Arshdeep is the soul of the Indian dressing room and gives his best to keep the atmoshphere light-hearted.
“All the youngsters are batsmen, they are younger than me, bowling group, I am the youngest, so I am still learning from them. I just try, I just try to keep the dressing room environment light.
“You don’t stay at home all the time, you are mostly here and there, so you don’t get time to be with your family, so how much family environment you can create in the team, so I just try that, and whether you are a senior or a junior, I try that everyone enjoys each other’s company, and keeps chilling,” he said.
