'He might actually be the best right now' - Aakash Chopra on what makes Arshdeep Singh special

Arshdeep Singh was one of the standout performers with the ball in the first T20I against England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He registered a two-wicket haul in his four overs, making him India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is despite making his debut in the format in July 2022. 

Former cricketer-turned-commentator, , highlighted the ability of Arshdeep to swing the ball both ways as his biggest strength. To add weight to his stance, he revisited the couple of wickets which Arshdeep scalped.

"Arshdeep Singh has reached 97 (wickets). He is very close to 100 wickets. However, what makes Arshdeep Singh special? That is a big, big, big question, because he has progressed very fast. If you see the list of India's top wicket-takers, he is the most expensive guy. He leaks a few runs, but he takes wickets and does that by swinging the ball," Aakash Chopra in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

"What he did in the first match, I felt it was excellent, because he set a trap that he would move the ball in, and then moved the ball away repeatedly, and trapped the batter (Phil Salt). Then, he bowled absolutely full to Ben Duckett," shared Chopra observed that Arshdeep's effective usage of bouncers in addition to the swing he generated made him a tough customer to deal with," he added.

"You don't dare to bowl full if you don't have swing, but he has the swing. He has the ability to swing the ball both ways. The ball can come in or go away from the right-handers. Then, he also gets bounce as he is tall and has a high-arm action. He has the variations. You cannot line him up. He also sets the field like that. He keeps the third man in to show that he will bowl an inswinger but bowls an out-swinger. He is using the bouncer well, which very few people are doing," added the former Indian opener.

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Chopra further felt that the range of variations Arshdeep possessed in his repertoire made him the best bowler in the 20-over format.

"He might not have that much pace, but uses the bouncer well. Then, the slower bouncer and the slower one. I think Arshdeep is looking like a full package. Jasprit Bumrah is different. Let's keep him away. I was thinking about left-arm fast bowlers. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mitchell Starc are there, but Arshdeep Singh in T20 cricket, he might actually be the best right now," observed Chopra.

Despite the left-arm seamer's economy being on the higher side in comparison to a few T20I pace bowlers, Arshdeep has certainly compensated that with his wicket-taking prowess. It remains to be seen the heights he achieves for India in the near future.