Arshdeep Singh backed to make his India test debut in England by his PBKS coach Ricky Ponting

Arshdeep Singh received his maiden call-up in the test squad for the England series.

According to former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, the Indian Cricket Team should start Arshdeep Singh in the starting lineup for the forthcoming five-test series against England.  

Arshdeep’s left-arm angle and ability to swing the new ball might be a “point of difference” for the squad, according to Ponting, who coached him at Punjab Kings during the most recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. He even went so far as to say that he would be “surprised” if they didn’t select him.

Arshdeep’s inclusion for the England series marks his first time playing test cricket for India. Despite being a superb white-ball bowler thus far, he was instrumental in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 victory.

“He’s very skillful; he played county cricket.” – Ricky Ponting backs Arshdeep Singh to make India test debut in England

In first-class cricket, Arshdeep Singh has amassed respectable stats: 66 wickets at 30.37 in 21 games. He previously played county cricket for Kent in Division One, taking 13 wickets in five games.

“I would actually have him in their Test team at the start (of the England series). He’s very skillful; he’s played county cricket, he knows the conditions there, and I think the Dukes ball will help him in the UK as well.

And I just think to have that point of difference, having a left-armer in your team, I think will be something that, if India doesn’t do it, then it’ll be a bit of a surprise to me. As we know, in England, the ball still swings 30, 40, or 50 overs old. So to have someone that’s got that swing bowling ability and a left-armer, I think, is something that the Indian team should definitely look out for on that tour,” Ricky Ponting said on ICC Review.

The first test between England and India begins on June 20 in Leeds. The second match of the series will be held at Edgbaston in Birmingham from July 2, while the third game will commence on July 10 at Lord’s.

The fourth test will be played in Manchester from July 23 onwards, and the final and fifth test will be played at the Oval in London from July 31 onwards.

India Test squad for England: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.

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