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Hard work and no shortcuts reason for Arshdeep’s India selection

Mumbai: On Sunday evening, Punjab Kings medium pacer Arshdeep Singh called his mother Baljeet Kaur prior to the IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. While Kaur was in her evening prayers, her son would share the news of his selection in the Indian squad for the five-match ODI series against South Africa. Soon, it became a virtual celebration with team-mates Harpeet Brar and Baltej Singh joining the phone call.

Arshdeep, who has impressed one and all with his control and economy, especially during the death overs, has been named alongside pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan and Umran Malik.

“Arshdeep calls me prior to every match and did so this evening as I was doing a path. He told me, ‘Mom, wadhai howe, I have been selected in the Indian team.’ I could not hold my tears and it was when his team-mates joined the call and started doing bhangra in the team bus that I realized how big the moment it is for Arshdeep. He never tires and the only thing he would ask me is to massage him after his training sessions,” Baljeet told.

“So, it will mean now I have to give him longer massage sessions when he comes home to prepare for India (laughs). It has been a tough journey for him and to see him wearing the India cap will be the biggest joy for us.”

Son of security officer Darshan Singh, the young Arshdeep would be initiated into cricket by his father, who observed him bowling in swing at practice sessions in a park near their Kharar residence. Singh would get him enrolled under coach Jaswant Rai in Chandigarh, which meant that a young Arshdeep would cycle from Kharar to Chandigarh twice a day for training.

“When Arshdeep joined the academy, I was impressed with his ability to swing the ball. He had a high-arm action and his height too was good at that time. I remember that he would try to ball all the six balls in an over differently. He wasn’t accurate at that time but his ability to bowl inswing made me think that this guy can go far in his career,” remembers Rai.

There was one incident that made the coach sure that the youngster will play for India one day. “It was summer and Arshdeep reached a bit late for morning practice, which starts at 5.30 am. When I asked him, he told me, ‘Sir, koi vi punishment de do.” After the practice session, I noticed that his cycle in the parking lot was missing. I asked him about his cycle and he told me that his cycle had broken and he had come on foot to the academy from his home in Kharar. He could have told me earlier but he chose not to. That day made me believe that he has the passion to play for India,” says Rai.

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