West Indies are not a one-tier team: Arshdeep Singh

CHENNAI: There’s an infectious aura around it Ardeep Singh. The left-arm pacer can give tough competition to his yorkers and rock the field, but off the field, he is a ball of energy.At Chebauk on Thursday night, Ashdeep had an ominous touch as he swung the ball to both sides and kept a tight grip on the Zimbabwe batsmen. He took three wickets and surpassed Jasprit Bumrah to become India’s leading wicket-taker in T20 World Cup history with 35 scalps. After helping India beat Zimbabwe, Ashdeep showed a different side to his menacing image in the media area. Most of his replies were full of beans.

This was the reply he got when he was asked earlier in the day about South Africa’s victory over the West Indies, which has paved the way for India. He smiled, said a funny “thank you” to the Proteas and even shared the tension in the hotel room.“We were not concentrating on the game but were constantly checking the score. My family was in the hotel room and when the West Indies batsmen were batting, my father cursed them. I said, ‘Don’t be angry, enjoy the game and hope South Africa wins’. They (South Africa) played well and thank them for giving us the opportunity to decide the outcome of the next game. It will be fun to watch and we will try our best to beat them in the final,” Ashdeep said.India’s next game against West Indies at the Eden Gardens will be a virtual quarter-final and Arshdeep knows it won’t be an easy game. The Caribbean side’s power hitters can change the script in the blink of an eye and he is quick to point out that they are not just one-dimensional. After all, despite an 83-7 record against South Africa on Thursday, the Windies struggled to achieve a competitive total.

“It’s not like they have just one outfit. If you look at their game against SA, they played very well in the midfield as well. They went deep into the game and then ran about 180 runs. So I guess they can adjust according to the situation as well. Looking ahead to the game, we will see how the pitch behaves and the conditions. The focus now is on recovery and we will assess the situation on the day of the game,” Ashdeep said.One thing that Ashdeep will focus on against West Indies on Sunday is, in his own words, “trying to control the urge to bowl bad balls (laughs)”. He went on to add that he and his fellow bowlers were happy to do the “dirty work” on a batting-friendly surface.“As long as our batsmen enjoy batting on these surfaces, we are more than happy to do the dirty work. We don’t mind getting hit. Our game plan is to score high and then defend hard,” the 27-year-old said.