Former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja was effusive in his praise for India’s left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, one of the prime architects of the T20 World Cup triumph.
In the T20 World Cup final against South Africa on June 29, Arshdeep Singh bowled the crucial penultimate over of the match, and gave away just four runs to finish an impressive spell of 2 for 20 leaving Hardik Pandya to defend 16 off the final six deliveries, which he did splendidly.
Arshdeep eventually ended the T20 World Cup 2024 as the joint highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets, the same as Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi, ahead of India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (15 wickets), who bagged the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.
Impressed by the Punjab left-armer’s willingness to learn and hold his nerves under pressure, Raja, who also served as a former chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board, felt that Arshdeep is learning the trade from Bumrah without getting overawed by his stature as the world’s best bowler.
“All the bowlers in India’s attack played their role (in the T20 World Cup victory), some got hit but most of them delivered good performances with their tight bowling and cleverness on flat tracks that test you bowling quality, credibility and credentials. On that note, the name that first comes up is that of Arshdeep Singh,” Raja said.
“Bumrah ke hote hue, ye craft seekh bhi rahe hain, par unse dab nahi rahe hain (with Bumrah there, Arshdeep is learning from him and not feeling the pressure because of Bumrah’s presence). It’s very important for him to back himself and prove that he is at par with Bumrah, if not better than him,” he continued.
“So to challenge himself that way is very important for Arshdeep’s growth, because if he will compete with the world’s best bowler, then his own bowling will touch the sky,” the former Pakistan batsman, who was part of the 1992 ODI World Cup-winning team, said on his YouTube channel ‘Ramiz Speaks’.
The 62-year-old Raja also hailed Arshdeep’s willingness to learn and not let the pressure get to him.
“He comes on to bowl in do-or-die situations (death overs), like if he doesn’t deliver, the team will lose and he might be out of the squad. But he bowls cleverly and to his field, when to bowl length balls, slower balls, can bowl the slower bouncer as well. So he offers a lot of advantage to his team,” Raja said.
Raja also spoke highly of the quality of the Indian pace-bowling unit that is gradually becoming a fearsome attack.
“The important thing about Indian circuit is that we are witnessing improvement in skill level every six months, not that they fall apart or the performance dips. The skill level is going up and there is a willingness to learn. That’s an important element you see in Arshdeep’s bowling,” he concluded.