It was a dream come true moment for bowler Arzan Nagwaswalla when he found himself on the list of standby players for India’s upcoming tour of England. The BCCI on Friday had announced a strong 20-man squad along with four standby players, who will fly to England for the World Test Championship finale followed by a five-match Test series against the hosts.
Nagwaswalla got this opportunity following a superb stint in the domestic circuit. He was Gujarat’s leading wicket-taker during the Ranji Trophy 2019-20 season. The left-arm quick scalped a total of 41 wickets at an average of 18.36. All his hardships paid off as the 23-year-old will now be sharing the dressing room with some of the giants of Indian cricket.
During a conversation with BCCI.TV, Nagwaswalla heaped praise on former India and Gujarat cricketer Parthiv Patel under whom he made his Vijay Hazare debut. Parthiv has played a huge role in the rise of Gujarat players and the youngster is one of them.
“I have made my debut under him in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2018. The way he uses his mind and operates during the game is completely on a different level. He used to tell me that you must know your role with the ball; be it coming in as a third pacer or taking the new ball. He always highlighted the importance of planning going into the game and told us to believe in ourselves while executing our plans,” Nagwaswalla told the BCCI.
{{/usCountry}}“I have made my debut under him in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2018. The way he uses his mind and operates during the game is completely on a different level. He used to tell me that you must know your role with the ball; be it coming in as a third pacer or taking the new ball. He always highlighted the importance of planning going into the game and told us to believe in ourselves while executing our plans,” Nagwaswalla told the BCCI.
{{/usCountry}}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.