From facing online trolling to being called India's own Wasim Akram, left-arm speedster Arshdeep Singh has come a long way when it comes to proving his critics wrong. The presence of Arshdeep Singh in Team India has only bolstered the Men In Blue's bowling arsenal and Rohit Sharma & Co are banking big upon him especially when the 50 Overs World Cup will be taking place in October. Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, the name of this trio is enough to shiver any opposition's batting line-up on any kind of surface. Just like the 2011 World Cup, Zaheer Khan's presence added a different dimension to the Indian bowling attack, the presence of Arshdeep Singh gives the same balance to Team India in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. Notably, India is hosting this year's Cricket World Cup and players have tightened their socks to be a part of the Men In Blue and bring back the title of World Champions home. Although every player has their own story of hardship and sacrifices to narrate, Arshdeep Singh has given the test of his character and skills in almost every series he has played for Team India. To brush up your memory, it was Arshdeep Singh who dismissed Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam in the T20 World Cup 2022 which helped the Men in Blue avenge the 10-wicket defeat from Pakistan. Team India has got many Turbanators from time to time and for this age, Arshdeep Singh's stats and skills show he is ready to fill in the big shoes. Arshdeep Singh's life story is a perfect example that teaches how youngsters of today should have the 'Hard Talk' with their family when it comes to following passion and dream
Arshdeep Singh's early life-
Arshdeep Sigh was born in a Sikh family to Darshan Singh and Baljit Kaur at Guna Madhya Pradesh, where his father was posted in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). His father worked in CISF for more than 25 years. Later Singh's family shifted to Kharar, near Chandigarh, where Arshdeep now lives with his family. As per reports, Arshdeep's father Darshan Singh now works as a security head in Groz Beckert Asia inside Industrial Area of Chandigarh. He started playing gully cricket with neighborhood boys and later joined Jaswant Rai's cricket academy, Chandigarh in 2015. His elder brother Akashdeep Singh lives in Brampton, Canada.
Arshdeep Singh's plan for Canada
Notably, Arshdeep Singh's cricket career was full of ups and downs. Talking to a news portal, Arshdeep Singh, remembered having hard conversation with his father in 2017. He had struggled to get opportunities in age-group cricket. Unsure if there was a future in the game, his father wanted Arshdeep to follow the footsteps of his older sibling, who had migrated to Brampton in Canada, first for academics and then to "settle". However, Arshdeep had different plans. He mustered the courage to request his father for one year to make a life in cricket. And that year turned out to be memorable. It started with him finding a way into Punjab's Under-19 squad on the back of some solid performances in district cricket. The crowning glory came in New Zealand, when he was part of India's Under-19 World Cup-winning squad of 2018.
Interestingly, Arshdeep was not much of a cricket watcher. In the same interview, he shared "I used to watch a lot of hockey, though...In Punjab, hockey is big and my dad used to take us to watch hockey games. I remember when we were four of us on a scooter. Me standing in front, dad riding, my sister and mum at the back. That time, my dad kept saying, 'When you become big and do well in life, get a big car and we can all go and watch sport comfortably, I still remember.'"
Arshdeep Singh's early cricketing life-
Arshdep Singh has been playing cricket since his school days. In 2017, he competed in the U19 Challenger Trophy for the Red team. During the U23 match against Rajasthan, he had a hat-trick along with taking 8 wickets. This match led him to state level matches. In 2018-19, he competed for the Vijay Hazare trophy. After his success in domestic cricket, he started his IPL career. He played for the Kings XI Punjab (then) team in the IPL. He played in 3 matches. Taking 10 wickets with an economy rate of 8.27 in 2022, he was the death specialist.
Arshdeep made his international debut on 7 July 2022. His first international was against England. Arshdeep became only the third player to achieve a maiden in the first over of the first match. His excellent economy rate allowed him to be selected for the 2022 Asia Cup. He was selected in the absence of Jaspreet Bumrah. The first match he played was against his bitter rivals, Pakistan. Only 1 wicket was taken by him in four overs while giving 44 runs to the opposing side. In the 18th over, he missed the catch which turned the match into a crucial stage. However, Arshdeep was praised by cricket experts as bowled back-to-back yorker in the final over of the match. Still, Asif Ali's catch drop turned out very expensive as India lost the match. In consequence, he was dropped from the T20I series, but again he made his comeback in T20Is by playing against South Africa. In his very first over, he took all 3 batsmen from the opponent team who are their most prominent players.
Arshdeep Singh shut down trolls
It was during the Asia Cup 2022, Arshdeep Singh dropped the catch of Asif Ali during high-octane India vs Pakistan match. The match ended in Pakistan winning it and fans on social media started trolling Arshdeep. Although social media is quite common nowadays, Arshdeep Singh's trolling took an ugly turn when people started using communal slurs. However, Arshdeep Singh did not take it the wrong way. "People love us and our game a lot. So when we perform our best, people love us and when we don’t perform, people show their disappointment," Arshdeep said in a press conference. "So there is nothing like dealing with this. They express their emotions because we play for India and it is the fans’ right to express their love or anger. We should accept both," Arshdeep Singh said in one of his old interviews.
Going by Arshdeep's reaction, it can be said that he is a person with determination, grit, and humility at the same time. There is one thing common in Arshdeep till now, be it his personal life or cricketing life, he always bounces back. With ICC's Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 around the corner, Arshdeep Singh is eyeing to get selected in the squad and win the world cup for Team India.