"He told me calmly, ‘You should have faith in me"- Arshdeep Singh opens up on friendly disagreements with Jasprit Bumrah during 2024 T20 World Cup
Team India pacer Arshdeep Singh recalled instances of disagreeing with teammate Jasprit Bumrah's advice during the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. However, the left-arm pacer revealed how Bumrah's suggestions would almost always come to fruition.
The duo combined for 32 wickets in India's eight games during the tournament, finishing first (Arshdeep) and third (Bumrah) on the wicket-taking charts. They helped India remain unbeaten while triumphing in the World Cup.
In an interview with Sportstar, Arshdeep recalled an incident in the Afghanistan match where he disagreed with Bumrah, only to be proven wrong.
"During the match against Afghanistan, the ball was reversing a lot, so he suggested a few field placements accordingly. But I thought otherwise and suggested a different field setting. He told me calmly, ‘You should have faith in me and send the fielder to where I am suggesting.’ I listened to him and bowled in the right areas. As luck would have it, we got an edge and the ball went straight to the fielder, and then, Jassi bhai walked up to me with a smile and said, ‘See, you should have faith in me," Arshdeep said.
He added:
"He keeps telling me those things throughout the match and our discussions often get animated because I am a young blood, so at times, I do disagree with him. But later, I realised that the suggestions given by Jassi bhai would have indeed worked had I listened to him. And, I learn from my mistakes and try to get better."
Bumrah and Arshdeep saved their best for the finale against South Africa, combining for outstanding figures of 4/38 in eight overs.
While the former was the Player of the Tournament, the latter finished as the leading wicket-taker.
"He has always motivated me to focus on red-ball cricket as well" - Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh expressed his wish to play in all three formats for India, recalling Bumrah's words on playing Tests to create a legacy.
The 25-year-old has played 52 T20Is and 6 ODIs thus far for India but is yet to feature in the red-ball format.
"I want to play all three formats, and whenever I have spoken to Jassi bhai, he has told me, ‘You have to play all three formats. Playing white ball is good, but when you play red ball, you can create a legacy’. He has always motivated me to focus on red-ball cricket as well," said Arshdeep.
At 25, Arshdeep has already established himself as India's second-best T20I bowler with 79 wickets at an average of 19.10.
With his left-arm angle being an added advantage, red-ball selection might not be too far away.