Duleep Trophy gave me chance to showcase skills: Arshdeep Singh

India pacer Arshdeep Singh is keen to make a case for his Test debut after returning to first-class cricket in the Duleep Trophy. The 27-year-old said the outing helped him assess his bowling stamina and showcase his red-ball skills

New Delhi: India pacer Arshdeep Singh said he is keen to prove he has the skills and stamina required for Test cricket, with a rare first-class appearance in the Duleep Trophy giving him an opportunity to make his case for a place in the longest format.

Arshdeep, who has played 18 ODIs and 91 T20Is for India, is still waiting for his Test debut. His focus on white-ball cricket has limited his chances in red-ball matches, causing him to wait nearly a year between his 22nd and 23rd first-class games.

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The 2026 Duleep Trophy quarter-final against West Zone in Bengaluru turned out to be a crucial test for Arshdeep. He delivered sustained spells in both innings, ending with figures of 3/53 and 1/40, helping North Zone win by 52 runs.

“Very rarely do I get the chance to play red-ball cricket, and this was a chance. I wanted to showcase my skill set and just see how many overs I can bowl. The rhythm feels nice. After a long time, I was playing a red-ball game. I put in a lot of hours in practice, and it felt nice. The body is sore, but it’s a good sore because we got the win,” Arshdeep said after the game, as quoted by Cricinfo.

The 27-year-old also shared that he changed his training approach before the tournament, shifting his focus to red-ball bowling after mostly playing white-ball cricket recently.

“This time around, I knew the Duleep Trophy was coming, I was practising with red ball. When white-ball season is coming, then you practice with the white ball. It’s very specific training based on what kind of season is coming in front of you,” he added.

Arshdeep finds the main appeal of red-ball cricket in the chance to continually challenge batters. His head coach, Ajay Sharma, highlighted this point to him before the match.

“Ajay Sharma, our head coach, just told me that ‘even if you don’t get wickets with the new ball, you have a chance to come back in the second spell’. Red ball has that beauty of giving you a chance again,” he said.

Arshdeep has previously played county cricket, appearing in five matches for Kent in 2023. He believes the experience of playing red-ball cricket in England can be valuable, although India’s crowded schedule makes another county stint difficult.

“Whenever you get a chance, whenever there is a time frame you can go to England to play county cricket, that is a really good experience, but now, with the IPL, the white-ball season at home, and domestic cricket also going on, you can’t go play county. There are crucial games getting played here. We want to push our domestic cricket as well and make sure the level doesn’t drop down. We all choose to play here and give our best,” he said.

Arshdeep noted that the Bengaluru surface posed a unique challenge. Although it was overcast, the pitch favoured the spinners, requiring him to rely on strategic variations in his plans and field placements rather than traditional seam movement.

“On wickets like this, you just have to play with the mind. Sometimes you get success, sometimes you get hit for across-the-line six as well. So you got to take both and just keep trying,” he said.

He added that bowling on a helpful pitch requires patience, while flatter surfaces demand greater tactical thinking, saying, “When you have purchase from the wicket, when they seam, when they swing, that’s when you stay patient; that’s when you just keep hitting lengths. When it’s a different wicket, when there’s nothing off the pitch and just variable bounce, you just got to play with the field and try out different things.”