New Delhi: No Indian bowler has played as many matches or taken as many wickets as Arshdeep Singh in T20Is since 2022. No Indian bowler took as many wickets as Arshdeep in their title-winning T20 World Cup campaign in June in the United States and Caribbean either — the left-armer’s 17 scalps propelled him to being the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament alongside Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Through the time that he has established his T20 credentials with 54 appearances for India, however, Arshdeep has stayed largely on the periphery of the 50-over set-up. It’s hard to put a finger on why this has been the case given that the skillsets required in the white-ball formats aren’t too dissimilar.

Since getting his ODI initiation in New Zealand in 2022, he has played just six matches altogether. Three came on that maiden tour against the Kiwis while he had to wait for more than a year before racking up three more appearances in South Africa in December 2023 in India’s first assignment after the 50-over World Cup at home. This break between matches meant he was never in contention for the marquee event, where the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami hunted as a pack and contributed towards India’s runner-up finish.

What’s ahead of Arshdeep now is an opportunity to become a more regular feature of the ODI team, starting with the three-match series against Sri Lanka beginning on Friday. With Bumrah resting and Shami laid low by an ankle injury since the conclusion of last year’s ODI World Cup, Arshdeep is almost certain to take the new ball in the first ODI in Colombo.

Just like he did during India’s last ODI assignment. That was more than six months ago, but the pacer will have vivid memories of the success he tasted in India’s 2-1 series win against South Africa. In the first ODI in Johannesburg, in conditions favourable for pace bowling, he wreaked havoc with his maiden five-wicket haul to skittle the hosts for 116 in an eight-wicket victory. In the third ODI in Paarl, he was again incisive with figures of 9-1-30-4, finishing with 10 wickets in all and a player-of-the-series award by his side.

That is the confidence he needs to take into the coming games as India look to firm up their combination ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy early next year. On the face of it, Arshdeep has the requisite skills with new and old ball. In the Powerplay, he typically looks to swing the ball back into the right-hand batter and target the stumps. Every now and then, as he did to dismiss South Africa captain Aiden Markram in the T20 World Cup final, he can also get the ball to hold its line and bring the outside edge into play. And then in the death overs, he has a repertoire of pinpoint yorkers and slow cutters that would have merited greater attention if only he wasn’t bowling alongside someone as sublimely skillful as Bumrah.

According to childhood coach Jaswant Rai, the aspect requiring greater focus from Arshdeep in the 50-over format is his consistency. “The last ODI series that he played in, he bowled very well. The only difference between T20Is and ODIs is that you have to be more consistent with your line and length in ODIs because you have 10 overs. In T20s, you have to depend on variation. He has become quite mature,” Rai said over the phone.

To go with the skills, Arshdeep also seems to have the mindset to thrive across formats. “After the T20 World Cup, he came to me to train for 4-5 days,” Rai mentioned. “Earlier, he wasn’t prepared for red-ball cricket. But he is confident now. He told me he wants to play all three formats. He is quite motivated and keen to play all formats.”

The reason for the added belief, said his coach, is Arshdeep’s stint in County cricket with Kent in 2023. Plain numbers — he took 13 wickets in five matches at an average of 41.76 and a strike rate of 74.4 — may not make for compelling reading, but the demand of bowling long spells as an overseas professional in England while having to fend for yourself off the field has its benefits. Quite a few Indian bowlers, including Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, will attest to it.

“Maturity dheere dheere aa rahi hai (He is gradually maturing),” Rai asserted. “When you play days cricket, your mindset becomes such that you stick to a line and keep bowling there. Your consistency improves. That is the advantage of playing County cricket. That is the reason he was sent there for exposure. He didn’t take many wickets, but he was disciplined and had a good economy rate. He will see the benefits of that in ODIs.”

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