Ignored For 2nd Test Against Bangladesh, Star Pacer Takes 6 Wickets In Duleep Trophy

Arshdeep Singh continues to make a case for being selected in the Indian red-ball setup as the pacer delivered a crucial six-wicket haul in the Duleep Trophy 2024 to help India D pick up a win by 257 runs over India B in Anantapur on Sunday.

Defending a target of 373, the left-arm pacer showcased his ability to bowl long spells alongside Aditya Thakare as the duo cleaned up India B’s batting unit, sharing all 10 wickets between themselves.

The 25-year-old fast-bowler ran riot in the second innings as he cleaned up the B-team’s top order by getting rid of Suyash Prabhudessai and Abhimanyu Easwaran in the seventh and ninth over respectively.

His next victim was his fellow international teammate and the national team’s T20I skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, who fell for a 10-ball 16 thanks to the catch by the wicketkeeper.

With the game firmly in India D’s hands, Arshdeep cleaned up the tail-enders by getting rid of Mohit Avasthi, Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar, all of whom fell for ducks to help secure a win by a massive margin.

In the first innings, the pacer had picked up three wickets earlier. His combined figures were 9/90 while bowling a total of 29.2 overs.

Arshdeep has already made his case for being in the national team’s white-ball setup as he finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker in India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign in 2024. But he would hope that performances in the Duleep Trophy could help make a case for his inclusion in Team India’s Test squad.

Currently, the national team have already picked up the win over Bangladesh in the first Test at Chennai. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the same squad would be competing in the second Test which is set to take place in Kanpur starting on September 27.

Akash Deep is the third-choice pacer for the Indian team and the team management could make a case for Arshdeep’s inclusion as he brings added variety to the already dominant pace-attack. His left-arm pace could be a solid option for the Test team that is in pursuit of making it to their third-consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final where they hope to claim their maiden title.