Pacer Arshdeep Singh got his last T20I game exactly 223 days back: January 31, 2025 to be precise. The national team played one more game in Mumbai after that before assembling for the Asia Cup opener against UAE in Dubai. Arshdeep Singh is India’s most prolific wicket-taker in T20Is with 99 wickets from 63 games and is very close to becoming the fastest Indian to get 100 wickets in the shortest format but surprisingly he did not find a place in the playing XI for the game against UAE on Wednesday.
Arshdeep Singh also warmed the benches during the England Test series (barring fourth Test when he was ruled out due to a finger injury). Arshdeep Singh’s only game time ahead of Asia Cup was North Zone’s Duleep Trophy quarter-final against Central Zone where he didn’t look menacing.
It is still not very clear what is coming in Arshdeep Singh’s way to find place in India’s playing XI: Is it a niggle ? or team management’s tried and tested formula of shoring up batting till No. 8 and playing that third specialist spinner ? It was expected that Arshdeep Singh would be an automatic choice against UAE in the Asia Cup opener but much to to everyone’s dismay and surprise, he made way for third specialist spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
The team management hasn’t yet clarified yet if Arshdeep Singh was carrying a niggle but if that was the case, a replacement would have been called by now.Arshdeep Singh spent maximum time with strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux on the eve of the opening game against UAE during the Indian net session at the ICC Academy.
Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav, all three who were supposed to bowl in the opening game, opted rest while Arshdeep, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel were the frontline bowlers present among others in the optional session.
But Arshdeep Singh rather than bowling, decided to hone his batting skills a bit and did a lot of fitness drills under Le Roux and bowling coach Morne Morkel’s supervision. He did short sprints, sprint repeats, strides for close to an hour and at times it felt like as if he was doing some ‘Return to Play’ fitness drills.If it was an ‘out and out’ fitness related issue, then physio Kamlesh Jain would have also monitored the session but that was not the case.
Arshdeep Singh being left out of India’s Asia Cup 2025 opener against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was among the more surprising elements of their squad for the match. In the end, it mattered little as India steamrolled UAE in Dubai, racing to the paltry target of 58 in just 4.3 overs with nine wickets to spare. India went with just one full-time pacer in Jasprit Bumrah which left many baffled.Following his exclusion Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth slams the management for Arshdeep Singh’s exclusion from the Playing XI.
Kris Srikkanth criticizes the team management for exclusion of Arshdeep Singh from the Playing 11 vs UAE
Apart from his obvious skills while bowling at the death, it’s Arshdeep Singh’s temperament and his ability to remain calm when put under pressure that has been a standout feature. Arshdeep Singh has been pivotal to India’s success in T20Is for the past couple of years and is also the record wicket-taker for the country in the format. He is also one strike away from becoming the first Indian to take 100 T20I wickets.
Not many expected Arshdeep Singh to be left out of India’s playing XI for their Asia Cup 2025 opener against the UAE in Dubai, but that’s exactly what happened on September 10 (Wednesday). Former Indian Selector Kris Srikkanth expressed his surprise at left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh’s exclusion from the 2025 Asia Cup opener against the UAE. Arshdeep Singh also played a massive role in helping India win the 2024 T20 World Cup , finishing with a tournament -high 17 wickets.
“Very, very strange selection. Arshdeep Singh is the T20 player of the year and yet he didn’t feature in the 11. Of course, Pakistan is another mediocre side so this bowling attack should be enough for them. They’ll play the same 11 only against Pakistan. If I were the selector, the only way to convince Arshdeep Singh would be telling him that he is the world’s number one bowler but that these conditions are not suitable for him,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
While Arshdeep may boast more wickets and a better strike rate (13.2 vs 16.9) than Bumrah, the latter remains far more economical (8.29 vs 6.27), especially given his role bowling in the death overs. Making his first T20I appearance since the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa, Bumrah delivered 1/19 in three overs as India demolished the UAE by nine wickets with 93 deliveries to spare.
With Bumrah back as a first-choice speedster and Varun being the best T20 spinner for India through last season, the ‘young turbanator’ Arshdeep Singh might have to grin and bear it while training hard and keeping himself in shape.
Till India aren’t confident that international games across formats could even be won with seven quality batters — one among two specialists — spinner Kuldeep or pacer Arshdeep Singh will have to keep missing the games.All eyes will be on India’s playing XI in their next match, which is against Pakistan on Sunday at the same venue.
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