"A top talent and more versatile than Siraj" - Fans hail Arshdeep Singh for magnificent spell in 1st IND vs ENG 2025 T20I

Team India pacer Arshdeep Singh continued his remarkable T20I run with the ball in the opening game of the five-match series against England in Kolkata on January 22. After skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bowl first, the 25-year-old was right on the money in the powerplay.

Arshdeep removed the dangerous opener Phil Salt for a duck off the third ball of the innings. His impressive new-ball bowling continued when he dismissed the other opener Ben Duckett in his second over.

With his second wicket, he also overtook Yuzvendra Chahal to become India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is. Arshdeep finished his first spell with incredible figures of 2/10 in three overs and eventually ended his bowling stint at 2/17 in four overs.

He now stands alone on top of the wicket-taking charts in T20I among Indian bowlers with 97 scalps in 61 outings at an average of 17.83 and an economy of 8.25. Arshdeep has been sensational for India in T20Is since debuting in 2022, including being the joint-leading wicket-taker in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which they won.

Fans on Twitter hailed Arshdeep Singh for another excellent spell to set the tone in the England T20I series with the following reactions:

The praises continued for Arshdeep with one fan saying:

"No fancy celebration, no abusing, silently doing his job and now most number of wickets in t20is for India. This is Arshdeep Singh for you."

"Arshdeep is a top talent and more versatile than Siraj, i hope he justifies his inclusion in CT25," said a fan.

"At the age of 25, Arshdeep Singh has become the highest wicket-taker for India in the history of T20 cricket, it's unbelievable. Arshdeep Singh is the most underrated bowler in T20, he is a World Cup winner," a fan tweeted.

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Arshdeep Singh is part of the Indian squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy

Arshdeep Singh's heroics in the shortest format helped him earn a spot in India's 15-member squad for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy. The talented pacer has played only eight ODIs for India, picking up 12 wickets at an average of 24.08 and an economy of 5.05.

Arshdeep will be joined by the fearsome duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami to complete India's pace attack for the tournament. Hardik Pandya will play the pace-bowling all-rounder role.

Team India will be part of Group A in the Champions Trophy along with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand and will play their games in Dubai.

India's squad for the Champions Trophy

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.