IND vs SA 2022: "He’s someone who wants big challenges" - Robin Uthappa's take on Team India's Arshdeep Singh

Former India batter Robin Uthappa believes that Arshdeep Singh could very well emerge as the next top left-arm pacer in the country, given his incredible talent.

Speaking on Parimatch India, Uthappa emphasized that while Singh is a star in the making, fans should give him some time to grow as these are still his early days in international cricket. He suggested that the youngster relishes the challenge of bowling in tough periods.

Uthappa explained:

"Arshdeep Singh has the potential to be the next big left-arm fast bowler from India. But he’s still very young. We have to consider that people have a lot of expectations from these guys. It’s important to give them a little time. He’s someone who wants big challenges."

Uthappa mentioned that Arshdeep Singh lost a bit of zip due to playing back-to-back overseas matches. He pointed out that it is challenging for a bowler to make constant improvements while touring and how a lengthy campaign could result in a pacer looking off-color at times. The ex-India player added:

"Arshdeep Singh proved that he can do well with the new ball. One must understand that a player can’t work on improving his game while touring. During a competition, players focus on recovery and maintaining their strength.

"However, the pace of the bowlers tends to drop after a while due to travel and recovery. The same had happened to Arshdeep and it is also happening with Bhuvneshwar Kumar as he has played a lot of games lately."

The short break seems to have done wonders for Arshdeep Singh, as he made a roaring return. He picked up three wickets in the T20I series opener against South Africa on Wednesday (September 28).

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"Quite surprised to see that he wasn't picked by the selectors after the IPL" - Robin Uthappa on Mohsin Khan

Mohsin Khan performed admirably with the ball for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL 2022), bagging 14 scalps from just nine games at a fantastic economy rate of 5.96.

Uthappa stated that he expected the fast bowler to earn a national call-up after a successful season. He opined that Khan could be a useful prospect for Indian cricket in the future and added:

"Mohsin Khan is an extremely talented fast bowler and he can be more than a handful. I was quite surprised to see that he didn’t find favor with the selectors after the IPL this year. He was very effective this season.

"He’s an unassuming bowler. You don’t expect him to bowl quick, but he’s very fast and also has a very good short ball."

Khan received appreciation from all quarters for his bowling exploits in the cash-rich league earlier this year. He troubled the best of the batters by swinging the ball both ways with the new ball.