“Arshdeep Has Great Potential But…”: Legendary South African Cricketer Makes a Bold Statement Regarding India’s Pacer

Jonty Rhodes, a former South African star, is of the opinion that Arshdeep Singh has made enormous strides as a cricketer and possesses great potential; nevertheless, comparing him to the legendary Wasim Akram will put him under a great deal of strain.

The left-handed India pacer, who is 23 years old, was one of the bright spots of India’s T20 World Cup campaign, which was ultimately unsuccessful because they lost to England in the semifinals. England went on to win the tournament.

Because of his ability to swing the ball in both directions, Arshdeep ended up being the team’s leading wicket-taker. He collected 10 scalps over the course of six games while maintaining an economy rate of 7.80.

Rhodes told reporters after he was revealed as the mentor for ‘Samp Army’ globally, “I think that’s putting him under a lot of pressure, to compare him to the great Wasim Akram, the sultan of swing,” and “I think that’s putting him under a lot of pressure.”

“Arshdeep has most definitely developed over the past two years, and this is something that can be said about the majority of the Indian fast bowlers. When you look at someone like Bumrah and see how quickly he progressed, you can see that Arshdeep has done the same thing; he is a young fast bowler who is willing to learn and listen, and he puts in the hard yards.

“He does swing the ball, and he’s been a revelation right up to the end. He is really good in the powerplay, he possesses good control, and he is able to come around the wicket in an effective manner like Wasim Akram,” he went on to say.

Arshdeep was one of the players Rhodes worked with during his time as the fielding coach for IPL team Punjab Kings. Rhodes believes the teenager has a lot of untapped potential.

“He is the type of person who possesses a tremendous amount of potential in addition to the prospect of having a spectacular career. However, when you start comparing players to the players that played before them, it creates excessive pressure on the current players.

He has the goal of becoming the greatest Arshdeep Singh. Following consecutive losses at the Twenty20 World Cup, the Indian side is widely anticipated to go through a period of change, during which older players will be replaced by younger players.

When asked about some of the young players the BCCI should consider investing in, Rhodes responded by saying, “The current crop that is in New Zealand is a reasonably young team and there are some terrific players in the line up.”

“And because of the tremendous success of the IPL, you unquestionably have a wonderful platform on which to display their ability.”

In India’s next three-match Twenty20 International series in New Zealand, which will begin on Friday, younger players, such as Shubman Gill, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan, and Sanju Samson, would get the opportunity to play because more experienced players will be rested.

If you take a look at the Twenty20 squad that was chosen shortly after the Twenty20 World Cup, you can get a fair idea of how talented some of the players are.

Even without the veteran guys, this is a formidable lineup.” According to Rhodes, the participation in the Indian Premier League has been extremely beneficial for players from the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa.

“During the Indian Premier League format, you spend a lot of time in India, and even if the players are not playing all of the matches, they are still engaging in situations that were challenging for them in the past.

They get to work and train with some of the top players and coaches in the world, and having that kind of experience allows them to improve their game simply by asking questions.

The South African participant thought that the T10 format may work well for multi-sport competitions like the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. He was speaking about the format when he made his comments.

Even the T20 game, which lasts for three and a half hours, is shortened in the T10 game, making it a more exciting format. We could perhaps see it at championships such as the CWG or the Olympics, but at this stage the ICC cannot accommodate another format with their FTP because they are already having difficulty.