Team India keenly looking to groom left-arm pacers for the remaining World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. India will play Test series against Bangladesh, New Zealand at home while tour to Australia for five Tests.
There was a time when Team India’s bowling attack was dominated by left-arm pacers. The likes of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, and Irfan Pathan, who were all left-arm pacers, served Indian cricket for long across formats. Zaheer went on to become a legend in all formats, while Nehra and Pathan achieved great heights in the shorter formats. Now, with India set to play another 10 Tests in the World Test Championship 2023-25, the search for a quality left-arm pacer is on to form a lethal new-ball attack with Jasprit Bumrah in the new coach Gautam Gambhir’s era.
If reports are to be believed, India’s coaching staff is set to watch the Duleep Trophy minutely to not only finalise the Test squad for the remainder of the WTC season but also find a left-arm pacer to add variety to the attack. Also, Gambhir and Co. will be looking to find young pace bowling talent to strengthen the fast-bowling reserves.
The five-match Test series against Australia Down Under later this year is where the pace-attack will be in most demand. Hence, the Duleep Trophy will act as a dress rehearsal for pacers to book a flight to Australia. A spot or two is open for a left-arm pacer. For the record, the remaining five Tests will be played in India, where spinners will dominate the proceedings.
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So, who are the likely contenders to book the left-arm pacer spot in India’s squad?
Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few seasons. His brilliant performance in the 2024 World T20 has made him a frontrunner to bag the spot in the squad. If he can keep his consistency and translate his shorter format’s success into the longer version, he is the bowler to watch out for. Arshdeep and Bumrah can make the perfect new-ball pair Down Under, and hence, all eyes will be on Arshdeep to keep himself fresh and hungry for the Australia series. He might also be selected in the home Test series to get a feel of Test cricket before the bigger challenge.
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Khaleel Ahmed
Khaleel Ahmed is also in the fray after being part of India’s T20I squad recently during the tour of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. He has played 29 limited-overs matches for India, taking 31 wickets. He was also part of the Delhi Capitals squad in IPL 2024. Khaleel has shown a lot of promise but has yet to deliver consistently. Nonetheless, he will be closely watched in domestic cricket as a potential backup option for left-arm pacers in the longer version of the game.
Yash Dayal
Yash Dayal has come a long way after Rinku Singh cracked five sixes in a row against his bowling in IPL 2023. He redeemed himself in IPL 2024 when he bowled the last over against Chennai Super Kings and won the match for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, earning a play-off berth. His last-over bowling in that match against big hitters such as MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja has raised his stock. His performance in domestic cricket will be closely monitored by India’s think tank ahead of the Test season. He was even included in the fast-bowling contracts by the BCCI, showing how much trust the board has in his ability.
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