Arshdeep credits Siraj for sage advice during England tour

BENGALURU: The wait to make his Test debut might have been excruciating, but Arshdeep Singh says a chat with fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj has taught him how to survive this “boring” phase and be mentally ready for the Asia Cup.

An unfortunate left thumb injury had ruled him out of the fourth and fifth Tests against England recently when he was in contention to get the third seamer’s slot.

“Mentally in the last two months, I have learnt how to enjoy the boring time. In Test cricket or red-ball matches, 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?,” Arshdeep said on the sidelines of the ongoing Duleep Trophy.

Despite bowling quite well for the North Zone, the left-arm pacer had to wait till the fag end of the second day to clinch his first wicket against the East Zone.

It was a perfect occasion for Arshdeep to put in practice the advice of Siraj.

So, what was Siraj’s tip?

“I spoke to Siraj, 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. He gave me this small tip and I really liked it.

“The same thing happened here. They (East Zone) were just down four wickets and the ball wasn’t doing anything. So, that was the main motive... how to enjoy each other’s company. That’s how the results came,” he added.

“This game, I felt really good. The last couple of months I was with the (Indian) team, trained a lot, bowled a lot and worked a lot with the S&C (strength and conditioning). Here, I bowled a decent long spell, 17 overs. It is coming out well and the body felt well,” he detailed.

But in a week’s time, Arshdeep will be operating with a white ball in the Asia Cup in the UAE.

So, can he adapt to the demands of the T20 format after training with red ball since the IPL 2025?

Arshdeep is fully convinced about his adaptability.

“It’s nothing like that. In the last Test (at the Oval against England), I started training with a white ball. I didn’t know that there was a Duleep Trophy match in between. The workload was properly managed.”

Arshdeep said he is using Duleep Trophy to have some preparatory overs under his belt ahead of the continental showpiece.

“I don’t know how many thousands of balls I bowled in practice. There was no lack of bowling. At the end of the day, white or red ball, you just play.

“I got a chance to play here and will next play with a white ball (Asia Cup). The aim is to have a lot of overs under the belt,” he noted.

But limited game-time does not mean taking a time off from his routines, and, in fact, Arshdeep has been trying to expand his skill bases.