‘I spoke to Siraj…': Arshdeep Singh relives India vs England trauma, says ‘He gave me this…’

In India's recent five-match Test series in England, Arshdeep Singh didn't feature in any of the matches, despite injuries to several pacers and Jasprit Bumrah's workload management. Then it turned for the worse as Arshdeep suffered a left thumb injury, which ruled him out of the fourth and fifth Tests. India's Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj during a training session.(PTI)

He is currently featuring in the Duleep Trophy, where he is playing for North Zone, as they take on East Zone in Bengaluru. He will be heading to the UAE after this for India's Asia Cup campaign.

Opening up on his recent struggles at the sidelines of the ongoing Duleep Trophy, Arshdeep said, “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?”

He also credited Mohammed Siraj for motivating him. He said, "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.

Arshdeep will face stiff competition for getting selected in the Asia Cup playing XI. Bumrah and Harshit Rana have been included in the squad. Meanwhile, he will also face competition from all-rounder Hardik Pandya too. Pandya will be key to India's ambitions in the upcoming continental showpiece event.

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