A look at Team India's left-arm medium-fast bowler, Arshdeep Singh's success story. From almost leaving India to settling in Canada to being compared to legendary bowlers like Wasim Akram.
Over the decades, we have seen a series of exceptional cricketers making their mark in international cricket for Team India. From fearsome bowlers to explosive batters and eagle-eyed fielders, Indian cricket has produced it all. However, today, we are going to talk about the Sikh representation in the Indian cricket team. Every generation has been blessed to witness a series of exceptional Sikh cricketers, who have contributed heavily to Team India. Some of the best Sikh cricketers in Indian cricket's history include the likes of Navjot Singh Sidhu, Kripal Singh, A. G. Milkha Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Balwinder Sandhu, Maninder Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Bishan Singh Bedi, and Kanwar Rai Singh.
Following in the footsteps of exceptional Sikh cricketers before him, Arshdeep Singh Aulakh, better known as Arshdeep Singh, is the one who represents the Sikh community in the Indian cricket team. For the uninitiated, Arshdeep burst into the scene when India won the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup against New Zealand. The youngster was one of the standout players for Team India, and it was his consistent pace around the mark of 145 kph that caught everyone's attention.
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In the following years, Arshdeep Singh's potential once again caught everyone's attention when he made his T20I debut for Team India against England in July 2022. The youngster bowled a maiden over on his debut and became the third bowler in the history of Indian cricket, who managed to do it.
Since then, Arshdeep Singh has become a crucial part of Team India. At the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, Arshdeep is the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 15 wickets in just six matches as of June 25, 2024. The 25-year-old bowler has already proved his worth time and again in many tournaments and is indeed an important asset for Team India.
Arshdeep Singh was born in Madhya Pradesh's Guna on February 5, 1999, into a Punjabi Jatt Sikh orthodox family. Talking about his parents, Arshdeep's father, Darshan Singh worked as the Chief Security Officer in DCM, while his mother, Baljit Kaur was reportedly a homemaker. Right from an early age, he was interested in cricket and started showcasing his amazing potential. The cricketer completed his education at Chandigarh's Guru Nanak Public School.
Once, in an old interview with a news portal, Arshdeep Singh's father, Darshan Singh opened up about his son and recalled the hardships that he had gone through. Opening up about the same, Darshan Singh revealed that Arshdeep used to go to his training centre in Chandigarh on a cycle from Kharar. The distance between his home and the training centre was around 20 km, and the youngster used to cover it on a cycle.
However, all his hard work and pain turned out to be fruitful in the following years. At the mere age of 13, Arshdeep Singh played for his school's cricket team and represented Punjab and Chandigarh in their respective state tournaments. Arshdeep created a stir at the district level when he clinched 19 wickets in just five matches for Chandigarh in the Punjab Inter-District ODI Championship for the DP Azad Trophy. Arshdeep made his List A debut for Punjab in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy and first-class debut in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy.
Indian Premier League's (IPL) famous side, Kings XI Punjab signed Arshdeep Singh in December 2018 for the 2019 season. In his debut IPL campaign, Arshdeep was the second-highest wicket-taker for Punjab and was termed as the 'Future star player'. The bowler made his ODI debut on November 25, 2022, against New Zealand and his T20 debut against England on July 7, 2022. So far, in his career, Arshdeep has taken 65 wickets in T20I, 10 wickets in ODI, and 41 wickets in IPL.
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King XI Punjab signed Arshdeep Singh back in 2018 at just Rs. 20 lakh. Due to his impressive performances in the following seasons, the franchise retained him in 2022 with a mammoth price tag of Rs. 4 crores. It was a moment for Arshdeep and his family, and he finally reaped the benefits of his hard work. In an interview with a news portal, Arshdeep's father, Darshan Singh revealed that he and his son are going to invest the huge sum in building a new home for their family.
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Arshdeep Singh is currently one of the best young bowlers in the world. Because of his pace and technique, many cricket experts compare him to the legendary Pakistani bowler Wasim Akram. There are indeed many similarities between Arshdeep and Wasim Akram, from their bowling action to their respective skills. However, not everyone is aware that this exceptionally talented bowler once wanted to quit cricket and settle down in Canada.
It was back in 2017, when Arshdeep Singh wasn't getting many chances to prove his worth. At the beginning of his cricketing career, when the youngster wasn't getting a lot of opportunities, he decided to quit cricket and leave India to settle down in Canada. However, after having a discussion with his family, Arshdeep tried again and eventually became successful in his career. With so much potential, Arshdeep Singh can be one of the best bowlers in world cricket.
Do you think Arshdeep Singh has the potential and attitude to become an iconic player for Team India like Harbhajan Singh and many other Sikh cricketers before him? Let us know.
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