Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh player profile

Arshdeep is one of only three Indian bowlers, after Jhulan Goswami and Ajit Agarkar, to start his T20I career with a maiden over. A death-overs specialist known for his accurate yorkers and 140kph-plus deliveries, he made his international debut in England in 2022.

That debut, though, was several years in the making. Arshdeep was part of the 2018 title-winning Under-19 World Cup squad, and his three wickets in two matches at an economy of 2 were the beginning of a golden year for him. He made his List A debut for Punjab, got picked up by Punjab Kings in the IPL auction, and took an eight-for in an U-23 match against Rajasthan.

He had two quiet IPL seasons - he picked up three wickets in three games in 2019, and nine in eight in 2020 - but PBKS backed him. He repaid their faith by taking 18 in the 2021 season, when he was the side's second highest wicket-taker, and 17 in 2023, the most for the franchise that year.

After his T20I debut in England, Arshdeep took seven wickets in in five games against West Indies, a performance that got him into the 2022 T20 Asia Cup, where he was the only bowler other than Bhuvneshwar Kumar to pick up more than four wickets. He did even better at the T20 World Cup later that year, where he was India's top wicket-taker. In his first game, in front of 90,000 spectators at the MCG, Arshdeep produced a spell for the ages, removing Babar Azam with an inswinger with his first ball and sending back Mohammad Rizwan with a searing bouncer to leave Pakistan at 15 for 2.

In ODIs, he went wicketless in his first series, against New Zealand in 2022, but picked up his first international five-for against South Africa in 2023, starring in India's series win with ten wickets at a remarkable economy of 3.51.

Arshdeep Singh IPL factfile

- A member of the India team that won the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, Arshdeep Singh was bought by Punjab Kings (PBKS, then Kings XI Punjab) for his base price of INR 20 lakh ahead of IPL 2019.

- After just three appearances in his debut season, Arshdeep played eight games and picked up nine wickets in IPL 2020 at an economy rate of 8.77.

- IPL 2021 was his breakout season, as Arshdeep picked up 18 wickets from 12 games. His knack of nailing yorkers from his left-armer's angle made him a gun bowler at the death for Punjab. He also returned his career-best T20 figures of 5 for 32, against Rajasthan Royals, that season.

- Arshdeep was retained by Punjab Kings for INR 4 crore ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, and ended the season with ten wickets at an economy rate of 7.70. His performances earned him a spot in the India squad in the 2022 T20 World Cup too.

- He had another good season in 2023, taking 17 wickets, even though Arshdeep was more expensive than in earlier seasons, going at 9.69. He is a part of Punjab Kings in IPL 2024 too.