Arshdeep Singh bowled India’s 19th over in their famous T20 World Cup victory and kept things tight, conceding just 4 runs to strangle the South Africans. In a freewheeling chat with The Indian Express, the lanky Punjab bowler talks about keeping an unflappable temperament at the crunch, choosing his variations and scribbling poetry and taking to photography to unwind from pressures of cricket.
Question: Were you able to catch some sleep after last night’s celebrations in Mumbai?
Arshdeep Singh: Tagdi neend aayi (I slept really well). We had hardly slept after we won the T20 World Cup
Q: Could you sleep well before the final?
Arshdeep Singh: Before the final, I had the best sleep of my life. I woke up fresh. There were no sleepless nights.
What about nerves during the final?
Arshdeep Singh: There was nothing. In the team meeting, Rohit bhai specifically said that we treat it like any other match. ‘Yes the occasion is big but we will treat it like a normal day. Do your routines’. That was the clear message.
The welcome you guys got in Mumbai… has it sunk in yet?
Arshdeep Singh: After we won there was not much of a crowd in Barbados. But when we watched videos on social media and saw the reactions from the different cities… people were dancing on the streets. We knew that we would receive a warm welcome when we returned to India but never imagined that it would be at this scale. When I looked down from the bus, people didn’t have place to stand. It was a surreal feeling. I am glad we gave the country so much joy.
Everyone was crying after Hardik Pandya bowled the last ball in the final. Did you cry?
Arshdeep Singh: I was very happy. In the IPL, I have played so many nerve-wracking matches for Punjab Kings that I don’t have any emotions left. Mai koshish kar raha tha but yaar aansu nikle nahi (I tried hard but just was not able to cry). I watched the legends of the game… Rohit bhai, Virat bhai, who have achieved so much… they just couldn’t control their emotions. I was happy for them. But I don’t know why I didn’t shed a tear.
When David Miller hit that ball in the air, did it feel like the World Cup had gotten away from India?
Arshdeep Singh: My heart was pounding. I was standing at sweeper cover. I got the perfect side angle view. When Miller connected, I thought it would go the distance but like in a movie it started to dip. The way Surya bhai (Suryakumar Yadav) judged the catch… As he said in the post-match interviews he just wanted to save the six, but then he realised that he had the chance to take that catch. He took that risk, very brave of him.
You love to write poetry. Did you write after the final or during the tournament?
Arshdeep Singh: I haven’t got the chance yet. But whenever I get time, I will definitely put down my emotions on paper. This feeling of winning the World Cup, the reception we got…. I don’t think I would be able to do justice. I just love to write down whatever thoughts come to my mind. Writing poetry helps me take a break from cricket.
Your father had said that you laughed on reading the comments by trolls after that Asia Cup loss to Pakistan. Did you really laugh?
Arshdeep Singh: I did. When I am in stress, I just sleep. Sleeping is the best medicine, it solves all problems for me. Also I don’t care much about people’s views. For me what matters is what my family thinks and what my teammates say.
You have played 52 T20Is for India. Do you see yourself as a T20 specialist or do you want to play Test cricket as well?
Arshdeep Singh: Arshdeep Singh 100 per cent Test cricket khelna chahta hai (I want to play Test cricket). As a cricketer, when you start, you wear the whites and play with the red ball. You ask any cricketer, they will tell you wearing the Test whites is a dream. That’s the most difficult format. Recently when I played for India A, wearing the whites gave me a different feeling. It’s true joy. My ultimate aim is to play Test cricket for India.
In this World Cup, it seemed you knew when to bowl which kind of ball. How did that happen?
Arshdeep Singh: I have played enough cricket to understand what a match situation demands. You learn from experience. It doesn’t matter how much you plan, you prepare but once you start playing you get to know your game better. You must have options but at the same time you must also know what variation to bowl and what will be more effective in say the Powerplay or between overs 6 and 15 and in the death overs.
And when you have Jassi bhai (Jasprit Bumrah) with you it makes your life easy. His perspective on bowling helps a lot. If the ball is reversing on certain pitches, you must hit the good length, when yorkers will be more effective, when slower ones should be bowled. But instead of overdoing it, we must keep things simple. In the entire World Cup, we have seen that run-scoring was not that easy. But at the same time to keep the batsmen under check, you have to be disciplined and how well you can execute plans.
In the IPL you bowled more yorkers than Bumrah. Now, bowling alongside him, you seem to be picking the moments to slip in the yorkers. Any reasons behind it?
Arshdeep Singh: The yorker has become like a cliche nowadays. In New York, you didn’t have to bowl yorkers. Hitting the length was creating problems for the batsmen. It has become a norm that you must bowl yorkers in the death overs but I think you can’t bowl yorkers on every pitch. When bowling in the death, you have to adapt. On certain pitches, you might end up bowling 20 slower ones out of the 24 deliveries. In the IPL, where you are playing on flat wickets, bowling a yorker is the only option.
When Jassi bhai is not overdoing the yorker, it’s because he knows he might end up conceding runs. In T20 bowling you can’t be rigid. You need to keep an open mind as well.
We saw you doing the bhangra with Virat Kohli after the final but why didn’t Jasprit Bumrah join you guys?
Arshdeep Singh: It’s very rare to see Jassi bhai’s emotion. But after the win, he was also very emotional. His family was with him. He is not expressive when you compare him with a typical Punjabi. He expressed a lot after the win and it was good to see. Usually he has a straight face whether he takes a wicket or delivers yorkers. It was different to see him expressing his emotions.
The bond with Virat bhai has always been great. Same Punjabi culture, he also loves to shake his leg. The DJ was playing a perfect song (I can’t remember it now), the timing was perfect and we started doing bhangra.
Did you have any discussion with Bumrah on playing Test cricket?
Arshdeep Singh: Whenever you talk to Jassi bhai he will tell you how much he enjoys bowling in Test cricket. At the breakfast table, he would keep telling me that Arsh dhyan mein rakh tere ko teeno formats khelna hai (Keep it in your mind that you must play all three formats). He says when you do well in the Test cricket, people remember you and rate you more highly. Whenever we talk, he shares his input on bowling with the red ball. In red ball you have to stick to one length, you have to be relentless and should not think about the rewards because sometimes a jaffa will miss the off-stump, there will be oohs and aahs behind the stumps but the only thing you can do is walk back to your bowling mark. In one spell, you can end up taking five or six wickets but at the same time, you can go a day without taking a wicket. It tests your body and mind. I am looking forward to sharing the new ball with him in Test cricket as well.
Wasim Akram has said that you have got a perfect length to bowl in Test cricket. Have you ever had the chance to talk to him?
Arshdeep Singh: In the 2022 Asia Cup, he told me that my release point is good and that the ball is leaving my hand beautifully. Recently, when I met him in New York, he praised me for my ability to swing the ball both ways. In one of his interviews, he said that I must play red-ball cricket more with the skillset I possess.
How was it to have family watching you bowl and lifting the World Cup?
Arshdeep Singh: They keep their eyes shut when I bowl. I don’t know why. Who does these things when they are sitting in the stadium? My parents always say that whenever I bowl they close their eyes. I have told them what is the point of coming all this way. How would you get that feeling, what is going on in the match? I respect their superstitions. For them closing their eyes while I am bowling is their contribution. It gives them happiness.
Apart from cricket, and writing poems what’s the other hobbies you have?
Arshdeep Singh: I have started playing table tennis. I absolutely enjoy it. Photography is a new thing that I have started to like. I have bought a Polaroid camera although it has gone out of fashion but I have started liking it. I keep it to myself.
What was more difficult? Bowling with the new-ball against Pakistan at the MCG during the 2022 T20 World Cup in front of 100,000 people or the 19th over in the just-concluded final?
Arshdeep Singh: The feeling of bowling at MCG was very different. It was my first World Cup, I took a wicket in the first over. Bowling the 19th over was again something unreal. Here the game was on the line. Both were irreplaceable feelings. But this was more special considering it was the World Cup final. I enjoy bowling in touch and go situations. As a player you want to rescue the team. There will be times when you will not be able to. But bowling in these situations gets the best out of me.
It’s often said that the 19th over is even more crucial than the 20th in T20 chases. You gave away only four runs. Captain said the conversation with Hardik in the last over was about how to best use the wind. What was the conversation with you?
Arshdeep Singh: There was no such talk. Rohit bhai came and said tu jaisa daalta aya hai World Cup mey bas wahi kar (Bowl the way you have bowled in the World Cup). My idea was to try and bowl dots.
How emotional was Rahul Dravid?
Arshdeep Singh: Rahul sir has always been like ice. He keeps writing something in his diary. He keeps a straight face in the tense situations as well. But what I saw after the final… it was like watching a different Rahul Dravid. The way he was screaming with the trophy. I was in disbelief. He has done so much for Indian cricket as a player and now as a coach. This was a long-due reward. It showed how much that trophy meant to him. It felt great that we were able to give a legend like him a reason to celebrate. The way he managed the team, the practice sessions, the meetings, all credit to him.
