Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik have had a fairly similar rise in Indian cricket. Both were fast-tracked into the Indian limited-overs sides after one breakthrough IPL season. Malik made his India T20I debut in June this year against Ireland while Arshdeep made his first international appearance less than two weeks later in England. Arshdeep, since then, has rapidly risen to be one of India’s go-to bowlers after outshining veterans Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami in the T20 World Cup in Australia. Umran, though not selected for the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, has once again come back in the mix immediately after the world event.
Despite their similar largely similar rise in Indian cricket, Arshdeep and Umran are vastly different as fast bowlers. The left-armer relies on swing with the new ball and has the ability to bowl accurate yorkers towards the end. Umran, on the other hand, is an out-and-out fast bowler, breaching 150 km/h quite regularly. Many former Indian cricketers believe Arshdeep and Umran can form the core of India’s fast-bowling unit in the future.
As fate would have, the talented young seamers made their ODI debuts together in the first match against New Zealand in Auckland a few days ago. Arshdeep’s ODI debut didn’t quite go according to plan as the Punjab youngster went for 68 runs in his 8.1 overs without taking a wicket. Umran, however, breathed fire in the middle overs. The J&K right-arm pacer breached the 150 km/h mark at least four times and got the wickets of Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell.
“Umran k saath mahoul kafi accha rehta hai. Usko hasi mazak kaafi pasand hai. Aur jaha tak bowling ki baat hai, Mujhe benefit mil jata hai kyuki 155 se sidha 135 jab khelne ata hai batsman toh decieve ho jata hai toh kaafi pace se. (Things are quite enjoyable with Umran around. Like me, he also likes to crack jokes. As far as bowling is concerned, I get a lot of benefits [when he’s bowling at the other end] as batters get deceived playing 135 km/h after his 155 km/h deliveries). We enjoy a lot both on and off the field. We will try to keep this partnership going even off the field,” Arshdeep said when asked about his partnership with Umran Malik in the press conference ahead of the third and final against New Zealand.
The 23-year-old said though ODIs and T20Is are largely similar, one has to be more patient and be ready to take the backseat in the 50-overs game.
“ODI is a long game, partnerships play a key role, just like in batting, in bowling also partnership is important. I check how my partner at the other end is bowling on the other end. If he’s bowling well, getting more out of the surface then I will try and stop the runs to help him out. At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. If I am attacking, my partner at the other end will go on the defensive.”
