Ex-IND coach's big claim on Arshdeep Singh's potential Test debut: ‘Maybe in Australia, if we play four seamers’

Mhambrey, who saw Arshdeep Singh's growth from close quarters, feels the left-arm paceman has a chance to make it to the India Test squad for Australia series.

Team India finally has a left-arm pacer who has proved himself on the big stage - Arshdeep Singh. The Men in Blue had to wait for a long time to get a quality left-arm paceman since Zaheer Khan bid adieu to international cricket. Arshdeep is yet to make his Test debut, but he has surely made a mark in the T20I format with an impressive 2024 T20 World Cup campaign with the joint-most wickets in the tournament - 17. He is now a mainstay in India's shortest format, with 79 wickets in 52 matches. With Mohammed Shami recovering from his injury, he is expected to get more chances in ODI in the future. However, he is still not in the red-ball scheme of things for India.

Arshdeep Singh is a mainstay in India's T20I set-up. (AFP)

However, former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, who saw Arshdeep's growth from close quarters, feels the left-arm paceman has a chance to make it to the India Test squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year Down Under.

"It depends on the conditions. Maybe in Australia, if we play four seamers, he has a chance. To get one in India will be very difficult at the moment. But I feel he just needs a little more game time in first-class cricket, just to get control over his swing and also know how to use reverse-swing, which will be very handy. He has the swing that works for him. It is about maintaining fitness and working on it," Mhambrey told Indian Express.

Meanwhile, Mhambrey heaped praise on Arshdeep for handling the pressure and stepping up on big occasions for India in the shortest format.

"He has shown good maturity in terms of his plans in T20s. Be it bowling in the Powerplay or at the death, he has full clarity. If you look at his body language, he is really pushing, and that is a big plus. He is ready to handle pressure," he added.

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The former India bowling coach further asserted that the experience that Arshdeep gained in T20Is will help in his progression to the 50-over format, as he has played only 6 ODIs thus far.

"You can see his potential in T20s and the idea was to make him a regular in the format and then make the progression to ODIs. We wanted him to play as much first-class cricket as possible just to get control over his skillset," he added.