Arshdeep Singh took another giant leap towards earning his India Test cap when he floored Lucknow Super Giants with figures of 3/16 in four overs for Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday. Arshdeep’s brilliant bowling helped PBKS beat LSG by 37 runs and take the second points on the IPL 2025 points table. With 15 points from 11 matches, Punjab are steadily closing in on a place in the Playoffs, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans equally in the fray. But more importantly, with PBKS doing well, the spotlight is back on the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep, who, despite their brilliance in white-ball cricket, have struggled to break into the Test squad.
With the five-Test series against England fast approaching, Arshdeep, who, with 16 wickets, is currently the third-highest wicket-taker this season and is behind only Prasidh Krishna and Josh Hazlewood in the Purple Cap list, has managed to make heads turn. With Mohammed Shami struggling, Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management and Mohammed Siraj yet to hit full steam, India need more variety in pace, especially in England, where the ball tends to seam around viciously.
After wrecking LSG’s chase in Dharamsala, Arshdeep Singh, in search of a quick assessment, rang up his childhood coach to ask, ‘How was my bowling?’ Here’s what he heard in reply.
Also Read: PBKS vs LSG, IPL 2025 – Prabhsimran, Iyer, Arshdeep sink LSG – Action in Images
“I burst into laughter. I told him, Arsh, you have elevated your game so much that I can’t coach you anymore,” Rai told The Times of India. “What he showed on Sunday was maturity. Yes, there was juice in the surface, and three years ago, Arsh would have gone for that 3-4m length to get the swing, but now he didn’t. He has learnt the importance of hitting the 6m (good length) in these conditions.”
Arshdeep Singh is ready for Tests, says coach
Arshdeep has nailed T20 and ODI cricket for India. He was the top wicket-taker for India in the series against South Africa and in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In T20Is, with 99 wickets, he is ahead of any other Indian bowler, with renowned names such as Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, all behind in the pecking order. Since the retirements of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan and RP Singh, India haven’t had a prolific left-arm seamer playing Tests, and Rai reckons the find could end with Arshdeep’s inclusion in the squad, which the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee are to pick next week.
“Wo pak chuka hai (He is ripe now). He should get a chance to play in the red ball. He can bring the balance that India has been looking for so long,” Rai said.
