After the retirement of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, Team India has struggled to find a reliable left-arm pacer across formats. Although the likes of Barinder Sran, Jaydev Unadkat and K Khaleel Ahmed were tried, none of them could replicate their domestic form at the international level. However, in this age of matchups and set-pieces, it is necessary for a team to have a ready left-arm pace option. In this article, we take a look at the list of three left-arm pacers who must feature consistently for India.
1) Arzan Nagwaswalla
Arzan Nagwaswalla is one of the three left-arm pacers who must feature consistently for India. The Gujarat speedster was a stand-by in the Test squad that toured England recently. He has been selected to represent India A against South Africa A in the four-day games to start in November.
Having made his FC debut in 2018, so far, he has collected 62 wickets in 16 games. Arzan also enjoys a decent record in the T20 format. He is 24-years-old and is best suited to be integrated into India’s pace attack for the five-day encounters.
2) Arshdeep Singh
Unfortunately, Arshdeep Singh did not get a chance in the squad for the T20I series against New Zealand. In IPL 2021, he was one of the best uncapped domestic bowlers along with Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan. The Punjab cricketer scalped 18 wickets in 12 games at an average of 19 and an economy of 8.27.
Arshdeep excelled in various aspects of the tournament. He bowled well both at the start and in the death. Especially in the fag end, Arshdeep kept his calm despite the pressure around him. He also pulled off his variations and yorkers consistently. All these might help Team India in the long run.
3) Chetan Sakariya
Photo by Deepak Malik/ Sportzpics for IPL
Chetan Sakariya made his IPL debut in 2021. In his debut season itself, the Saurashtra pacer collected 14 wickets at an average of 30.42 and an economy of 8.19. In fact, after impressing for Rajasthan Royals in the first leg, he also got to make his India debut in Sri Lanka.
Sakariya will be a fine investment for T20 cricket. He has done well in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournaments and has shown his aptness for the shorter format. Sakariya is adept with his variations and has got multiple of them in his armoury. Therefore, India must give him a lot more chances in the coming months.
