Arshdeep Singh was preferred by the Indian team management before Mohammed Siraj as Jasprit Bumrah’s pace bowling partner in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The 25-year-old pacer rewarded that faith by becoming India’s highest wicket-taker of the tournament. Arshdeep’s 15 wickets are just one short of the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Fazalhaq Farooqi’s tally.
And yet, Jasprit Bumrah has arguably remained India’s most potent weapon and Arshdeep himself attributes his prolific run in the tournament to his senior bowling partner. “I guess a lot of credit goes to Jassi Bhai because he puts a lot of pressure on the batters – he gives, what, three or four runs in an over – so the batters come hard against me, and I just have to try and play my best ball and there are plenty of chances to get wickets there,” Arshdeep said after India’s 24-run win over Australia in St Lucia on Monday.
Arshdeep took three wickets for 37 runs in the match. He said that batters tend to target him because of the lean that Bumrah bowls and that leads to him getting wickets. “On the other hand, they see that the runs are not coming and the asking rate is increasing, so they are taking more risks against me. [There’s a] Always lucky to find a ticket office there. So a lot of the credit for my wickets goes to Jassi bhai,” he said.
Bumrah’s extraordinary numbers
Bumrah’s 11 wickets in seven matches may be four fewer than Arshdeep’s tally but the ace pacer has an economy of just 4.08, easily the best among bowlers who have played six matches in the tournament.
He gave away less than 10 runs in his four overs on two occasions. On Monday, Bumrah ended up conceding 29 runs, the most he has given in this T20 World Cup, but he took arguably the most important wicket of the day in the form of Travis Head. Head had scored 76 runs in 43 balls and powered Australia’s chase, but they never recovered from his fall in the 17th over. India’s victory allowed them to reach the semi-final. They now face England in Guyana in a repeat of the 2022 semi-final.