Arshdeep Singh IPL 2022: Why is Umran Malik not playing today’s 1st T20I between England and India in Southampton

Gurpreet Singh | 07/07/2022
Arshdeep Singh IPL 2022: Why is Umran Malik not playing today's 1st T20I between England and India in Southampton

Arshdeep Singh IPL 2022: The left-arm pacer from Punjab has finally been handed his debut team India cap against England.

During the first of the three-match T20I series between England and India at The Rose Bowl in Southampton, team India skipper Rohit Sharma has won the Toss and elected to bat first.

While Rohit is back and ready to lead the side after recovering from COVID-19 which forced him to miss the Edgbaston Test, he is the lone new addition to the squad which featured in the recently concluded two-match T20I series against Ireland in Malahide.

On the other hand, England’s wicket-keeper batter Jos Buttler is set to make his debut as England’s full-time limited Overs skipper today.

Arshdeep Singh IPL 2022

The 23-year-old left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been awarded with his maiden team India cap after some notable performances in the previous few seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

“We are making him (Arshdeep) play. There were a few choices for us, the other guys will have their time. Arshdeep has done well in the IPL, looks an exciting prospect,” remarked Rohit after winning the Toss.

While Arshdeep was the third-highest wicket-taker for PBKS in IPL 2022 with 10 wickets across 14 innings, he had the best economy rate of 7.70 runs per Over amongst all the Punjab bowlers, impressing one and all especially while bowling during the death Overs.

Why is Umran Malik not playing today’s 1st T20I

While there has been no official statement from Rohit as to why Umran Malik has lost his place from the playing XI, it seems to be mere the case of giving an opportunity to Arshdeep to showcase his bowling skills by acting as the former’s replacement.

Umran, who played in both the T20Is against Ireland recently, looked a bit scratchy as he could pick up only one wicket across these matches, while leaking runs at an economy rate of 11.20 runs per Over.

Post Edited By: Gurpreet Singh
Arshdeep Singh India tour of England 2022 IPL 2022

About the author

Gurpreet Singh

Gurpreet Singh is a Cricket writer at The Sportsrush. His platonic relationship with sports had always been there since childhood, but Cricket managed to strike a special, intimate nerve of his heart. Although his initial dream of playing the sport at the highest level couldn't come to fruition, Gurpreet did represent the state of Jharkhand at the under-14 level. However, almost like taking a pledge to never let the undying passion for Cricket fade away even a tad, he made sure to continue the love relationship by assigning the field of journalism as an indirect Cupid. He thus, first finished his bachelor's in journalism and then pursued the PG Diploma course in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Soon after and since 2019, he has been working at The Sportsrush. Apart from sports, he takes keen interest in politics, and in understanding women and gender-related issues.

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