"He also sent me a message that he is not bothered about the trolls" - Arshdeep Singh's childhood coach on his pupil's mentality after Asia Cup encounter against Pakistan
Arshdeep Singh's childhood coach Jaswant Rai claimed that the left-arm bowler was unfazed by the horrid criticism following his dropped catch against Pakistan in the Super 4s stage of the 2022 Asia Cup.
The youngster dropped Asif Ali on 0 during a crucial stage in the run chase and even a tight final over could not prevent a loss for the Men in Blue.
While the team management and teammates backed Arshdeep Singh after the match, he was subject to massive criticism and trolling by fans on social media. The Punjab-born bowler was responsible for bowling some of the toughest overs during the tournament and cemented his status as one of the best death bowlers in the nation.
This video is an eye opener: A Pakistani viewer mocks #ArshdeepSingh on airport while an Indian on duty rebukes the Paki & forces him to feel sorry!
#IndiawithArshdeep https://t.co/L63T9N0ldd
Revealing that he had a chat with the pacer following the contest in Dubai, Jaswant Rai said in an interview with the Times Of India:
"After the Pakistan match, I spoke with Arshdeep. He also sent me a message that he is not bothered about the trolls and social media outrage. He was, in fact, upset because he conceded a boundary vs Pakistan. He was dejected because of that boundary."
The youngster only had seven runs in the bank following an expensive penultimate over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He managed to stretch the game with a couple of well-executed yorkers and the wicket of Asif Ali. However, Pakistan managed to win the contest with a ball to spare.
Rohit Sharma opted to stick with the same formula in the subsequent encounter with Sri Lanka. Once again, the death-over specialist was left with only seven runs to defend in the final over, which the Asia Cup winners managed to scale in five deliveries.
Opining that Sharma should have given the penultimate overs to his pupil rather than the final overs, Jaswant Rai said:
"In my opinion, Rohit should have given Arshdeep the penultimate overs (19th over) and Bhuvneshwar the last overs. Bhuvneshwar should have bowled the last overs, not Arshdeep. He bowled really good yorkers under pressure in both matches."
Defeats in those two matches proved costly for India as they failed in their conquest to retain their Asia Cup title. The tournament proved to be a good learning curve for Arshdeep Singh as the pacer ended with five wickets in as many matches.
"Bhuvneshwar would have been able to defend them easily" - Arshdeep Singh's childhood coach on Team India's approach
While continuing to excel with the new ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar lacked the sting at the fag end of the innings. The Meerut-born pacer conceded 19 and 14 runs in the penultimate overs against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, respectively, in the Super 4s stage.
Another close match in Dubai and it is Sri Lanka who win by 6 wickets.
Scorecard - bit.ly/AsiaCup2022-IN… #INDvSL #AsiaCup2022 https://t.co/zxOAo5yktG
Reiterating that the youngster would have been a better choice to bowl the 19th over than Arshdeep Singh, Jaswant Rai said:
"Bhuvneshwar gave away so many runs in the 19th over. Arshdeep would have created pressure and the runs needed in the last over would have been defendable. Bhuvneshwar would have been able to defend them easily."
After making a strong case for himself in national colors on the back of a successful 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, Arshdeep Singh has found a place in Team India's squad for the T20 World Cup.
Will the budding pacer be part of the Indian playing XI at the upcoming tournament? Let us know what you think.