New Delhi: Former South African star cricketer Jonty Rhodes believes that Arshdeep Singh has made tremendous progress as a cricketer and has immense potential but legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram Comparing with will put pressure on him.
The 23-year-old left-arm seamer Arshdeep impressed during India’s campaign in the T20 World Cup where India lost the final against eventual champions England. Able to swing the ball both ways, Arshdeep was India’s most successful bowler in the T20 World Cup. He took 10 wickets in six matches and gave runs at a rate of 7.80 runs per over during this period.
read this also
“I think he will be under a lot of pressure when compared to the great fast bowler Wasim Akram, the Sultan of Swing,” Rhodes told reporters during an event here. He said, “Arshdeep has definitely progressed in the last two years and so have the other Indian fast bowlers. You look at Bumrah and he progressed so quickly and Arshdeep did the same, he is a young fast bowler. He’s willing to learn and listen to you and work hard.”
The former South African cricketer said, “He swings the ball and has bowled brilliantly in the death overs.” He bowls well in the powerplay, has good ball control and can bowl effectively around the wicket like Wasim Akram. Rhodes, who has worked with Arshdeep as the fielding coach of Indian Premier League team Punjab Kings, believes the young pacer has a lot of potential. Young players are expected to replace the senior players in the Indian team after two consecutive T20 World Cup disappointments.
Asked on which players the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) should invest, Rhodes said, “The players in the team that went to New Zealand are very young on whom the BCCI should invest.” Apart from this, there are some other great players waiting to get their chance.
Several senior players have been rested while the likes of Shubman Gill, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson will get a chance to play for the three-match T20 International series against New Zealand starting on Friday. Rhodes said that players from England, Australia and South Africa have got a lot of benefit from playing in the IPL. He also favored the T10 format, saying it is a good format for multi-sport events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. (agency)