Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh continued his sensational form in the first fixture of the ongoing five-match T20I series against England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday (January 22). He finished with figures of 2/17 off four overs to etch his name into the history books.
Arshdeep has now surpassed veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (96) to become India’s highest wicket-taker in the T20Is. The left-arm pacer has scalped 97 wickets in 61 games at an economy of 8.24.
Notably, Arshdeep Singh made his India debut in 2022 and has quickly ascended to the top spot, due to his exceptional control of seam/swing and accurate line-lengths. Apart from picking wickets with the new ball, he has been a potent weapon in the death overs, thanks to his toe-crushing yorkers.
Arshdeep was India’s highest wicket-taker in the 2022 T20 World Cup with 10 wickets in six games. He then topped the bowling charts for the country in the 2024 T20 World Cup as well with 17 wickets in eight appearances, as India went to clinch the title victory. His best-ever T20I figures of 4/9 came against USA during the same tournament.
When talked about his performance on Wednesday, Arshdeep Singh took the opening wickets of Phil Salt and Ben Duckett to evade England of a good start. It eventually resulted in the visitors getting bundled out for 132. Thereafter, Abhishek Sharma (79 off 34) top-scored for the Indian side to seal the chase in less than 13 overs.
In a fun clip posted by BCCI, Arshdeep hilariously apologized to Chahal for breaking his record. He then expressed his wish to continue the same form for the Indian team.
“It feels great, I’m grateful that my hardwork has paid off and I will try to continue taking wickets for the country,” said Arshdeep in a video released by the BCCI.
Arshdeep Singh was the most expensive pacer in IPL 2025 auction
Arshdeep Singh produced his career-best season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with 19 wickets in 14 games for the Punjab Kings. However, the franchise released him ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. On D-day, multiple teams were engaged in bidding war to secure Arshdeep’s services.
After Sunrisers Hyderabad were on the verge of acquiring the left-arm pacer for INR 15.75 crore, Kings opted to use the Right-to-Match (RTM) card. Then, the Sunrisers elevated their final bid to INR 18 crore. Nevertheless, the Punjab-based franchise accepted the bid and kept Arshdeep in their setup for the 2025 season as well.
The 25-year-old made his IPL debut in 2019 for the Kings and has so far scalped 76 wickets in 65 games at an economy of 9.02, with best figures of 5/32.
