‘Excited to meet all cricketers whom I’ve seen on TV only’: Arzan Nagwaswalla on being named as standby for ENG tour

In an interaction with BCCI.TV, Arzan said that he is very excited to meet the Indian cricketers and looking forward to a ‘dream-like’ journey.

Fast bowler Arzan Nagwaswalla became the talk of the town ever since he was named as a standby player for India’s upcoming visit to England. The left-arm pacer will be joining India’s Test squad which is scheduled to fly to England for the ICC World Test Championship Final and a five-match Test series against the hosts.

Arzan Nagwaswalla (Twitter)

Arzan had a terrific domestic season recently. He was Gujarat’s leading wicket-taker during their run to the Ranji Trophy 2019-20 semifinal. The left-arm quick picked up a total of 41 wickets at an average of 18.36. His brilliant performance paid off as the 23-year-old will now be sharing the dressing room with some of the stalwarts of Indian cricket.

In an interaction with BCCI.TV, Arzan said that he is very excited to meet the Indian cricketers and looking forward to a ‘dream-like’ journey.

“I am excited to meet and see all the cricketers jinko abhee tak bass TV par India ke liye achha karte hue dekhaa hai (whom I have seen doing well for India, so far on the television only). They have secured some big wins against Australia and England recently. So, I am looking forward to learning as much as I can from all of them,” Arzan told the BCCI.

“I am very excited to meet this team. Despite the injuries, we went on to win the series in Australia. I just can't wait to witness the team which has such a strong self-belief. Under Bharat Arun sir, our fast bowling has seen a great transformation. We have a superb bench strength. I am sure I will get to learn a lot from Bharat Arun sir,” he added.

The young pacer further said that he had grown up watching Zaheer Khan who had always been his inspiration.

“My bowling idol and inspiration has always been Zaheer Khan mainly because he has also been a left-arm pacer. I have grown up watching him playing for India and doing really well,” said Arzan.

The left-arm pacer was the net bowler for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021. He had an opportunity to speak with Zaheer, who is MI’s Director of Cricket Operations, and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Speaking about those interactions, Arzan said,

“Although we have not played together in domestic cricket because Bumrah has been representing India, whenever we have practised together (at Mumbai Indians), he has always told me to learn as much as I can from everyone – be it from Zaheer bhai or Shane Bond or from anyone. From thereon, it is up to you to decide what you want to do.”