The Indian cricket enthusiasts showered their support for young pacer Arshdeep Singh on Twitter, as the Indian bowlers conceded 211 runs in the first T20I against Australia on Tuesday, 20 September.
Despite scoring 208 runs while batting first at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, India could not defend the total as the Aussies crossed the finish line with four deliveries to spare, and as many wickets in hand.
The Indian pacers did not look in good rhythm in this match as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Umesh Yadav all had economy rates of over 10 runs per over.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was expensive yet again in the penultimate over, conceding 16 runs, while Harshal Patel struggled to find rhythm after making a comeback from injury.
With the pacers in the current squad struggling to deliver, many were quick to point on Arshdeep Singh's importance in the squad. The pacer from Punjab has been rested for the series against Australia, but he has made it to India's squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
Former pacer Venkatesh Prasad, however, voiced his opinion against the decision of resting Arshdeep, as he feels the youngster should play as many matches as he can before the T20 World Cup.
"I think India have missed a trick by not giving Arshdeep more games to groom in the death overs. Should give him as many games before the World Cup as possible," he wrote on Twitter.
Arshdeep Singh found himself at the receiving end of a barrage of trolls and criticism not very long ago, when he dropped Asif Ali's catch in an Asia Cup 2022 fixture, where India suffered a defeat against Pakistan.
However, he has established himself as a reliable bowler at the death for the men in blue. In 11 T20I matches, the Madhya Pradesh-born player has picked up 14 wickets at an economy rate of 7.38 runs per over.
Here's how Twitter reacted after India's defeat against Australia.
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