'I have never met Virat Kohli' - Arzan Nagwaswalla after being named as India's reserve player for WTC final

On Friday, May 7, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for the upcoming final of the World Test Champion against New Zealand and the five-match Test series against England. One of the surprising inclusion in the team was of young left-arm fast bowler Arzan Nagwaswalla.

Arzan has been added to the Test squad as a standby player and will be traveling with the main squad to England in the first week of June. This is a big moment for the young rookie and he is hoping to grab the opportunity provided to him by both hands to make a case for himself to be included in the main squad. 

Nagwaswalla has been associated with five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) in the past and has thus interacted with veteran speedster Zaheer Khan and India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma. The 23-year-old was roped in by MI as one of the net bowlers during the now-postponed 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, Arzan has never met Indian skipper Virat Kohli and is thus looking forward to interacting with the modern-day great. “It was exciting to interact with Rohit Sharma and Zaheer Khan, who’s my idol, during my stint with MI, but I have never met Virat Kohli,” Nagwaswalla said as quoted by Sportskeeda.

India’s 2011 World Cup victory inspired me to take up cricket: Arzan Nagwaswalla

Nagwaswalla also believes that the conditions in England will suit his bowling style and is looking forward to making an impact in the English nation. England is known for offering pitches that have a lot of grass on them and are a pacers delight.

“I’m surprised and overwhelmed with my selection. The conditions in England are ideal for a bowler like me. I’m pretty excited to go there,” said Arzan.

Further in the interaction, the 23-year-old was also questioned regarding what inspired him to take up cricket as his career. Answering the same, Arzan revealed that the 2011 World Cup holds a special place in his life as that was the event that attracted him to take up the sport.

“It was India’s 2011 World Cup victory which inspired me to take up cricket as a career,” Arzan said in the same interview.