'He will be the future world no.1 in T20Is' - K Srikkanth urges Chetan Sharma to pick Arshdeep Singh for T20 World Cup

Former Indian captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth has backed Arshdeep Singh to be part of the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. With less than three months remaining for the mega event, the Indian management will be looking to identify their preferred squad in the coming weeks. With so many rotations in every department and position, it’s not easy to predict who will make it or not for the Australia tour.

In the bowling department, India have played 11 pace options since the conclusion of the 2021 World Cup. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is leading a young crop of Arshdeep, Avesh Khan, and Harshal Patel in the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies. But it is safe to say that Bhuvneshwar is the only confirmed player going to Australia. Star speedster Jasprit Bumrah is rested for this tour and the experienced pacer Mohammed Shami has been in and out of the white-ball team lately.

Come on Chetan, please take Arshdeep Singh’s name also: K Srikkanth

Both Avesh and Harshal have enjoyed a good number of matches in the Indian jersey this year but are yet to make a big impact. Avesh has taken nine wickets in 11 T20I matches at an average of 34.77 and a poor economy rate of 9.11. He has age on his side and has shown great potential in the Indian Premier League in the last two seasons. But he has not done enough to guarantee his place in the World Cup squad so far.

Compared to Avesh, Arshdeep is enjoying a great start to his international career with wickets in all four matches he has played so far. He made his debut in the first T20I match against England last month where he took two wickets while conceding just 18 runs. Now on the West Indies tour, he has appeared in all opening three T20Is and has bowled all possible 12 overs. He has taken the second-most wickets (four) in the series at an impressive economy rate of 6.91. Srikkanth is also impressed with the left-arm pacer’s outings on the West Indies tour and has appealed to Indian chief selector Chetan Sharma to pick Arshdeep for the World Cup.

“He (Arshdeep) will be the future world no.1 in T20Is. He is simply outstanding. Arshdeep Singh! Make a note of it. He will be on the T20 World Cup team. Come on Chetu, please take his name also,” K Srikkanth said on FanCode. A few weeks back, former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra also backed Arshdeep over Avesh for the upcoming World Cup.