BENGALURU: Before Thursday, Arshdeep Singh’s last competitive match was the final of the Indian Premier League, for Punjab Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on June 3. During the recent England series, the left-arm pacer must have fancied his chances of a Test debut, but a left thumb injury sustained during a practice session in Beckenham ahead of the fourth Test in Manchester ruled him out of the series.Turning up for North Zone against East Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal, the 26-year-old didn’t take time to get into match mode. He mixed his lengths well, varied pace, and his deliveries in the corridor outside kept probing the batters.He looked match-ready from the opening delivery; why wouldn’t he?Although he warmed the bench in England, where he had a county stint with Kent in 2023, the left-arm pacer used that time judiciously as he topped up his skills.Outlining his routine in England, he explained, “During the last couple of months with the [Test] team, I trained and bowled a lot and also worked on strength and conditioning.”Arshdeep, who has been waiting for an elusive Test cap, remains focused on achieving it. About staying in the zone and keeping frustration at bay while waiting for his opportunity, he said, “The training is almost the same. You just put in more work when you are not playing. More overs, strength work and training, so that whenever you get the chance, you are ready and fully fit to go. So, when you are not playing, you try to push the limit.“It’s that mindset which will keep Arshdeep going as he switches formats and turns up for the country in next month’s T20 Asia Cup. “During the last Test [Oval], I started training with a white ball. The workload was properly managed. I don’t know how many thousands of balls I set down in practice. There was no lack of bowling. At the end of the day, white or red ball, you just play and enjoy it. I got a chance to play here [Duleep] and will next play with a white ball. The aim is to have a lot of overs under the belt,” remarked Arshdeep, India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 99 scalps.The tour of England has been a huge learning curve for Arshdeep, and he revealed senior pacer Mohammad Siraj’s mantra to beat boredom that he learnt during the series.“Mentally, in the last two months, I have learnt how to enjoy the boring time. In red-ball cricket, there is a time when the work gets boring. Like the session after lunch, the ball doesn’t do anything… How can you enjoy that? I spoke to Siraj, and he told me that when nothing is happening, how you enjoy that phase will tell you how successful you can be in red-ball cricket. I really liked that tip.”
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