Gujarat-based Arzan Nagwaswalla stole all the limelight after he was recently named as one of the four standby players for the upcoming tour of the United Kingdom where Team India will lock horns with New Zealand in the upcoming edition of the ICC World Test Championship final. Following the WTC final, team India will embark on a grueling five-match series against hosts England.
Arzan made his debut for Gujarat in 2018 and ever since he has been giving consistent performances in domestic cricket. Impressed with his performances, he was rewarded with the position as a standby player in the Indian squad.
He has picked 62 wickets in just 20 First-Class matches at 22.53. Earlier this year, he was at a peak of his powers in domestic white-ball tournaments and turned out to be the highest wicket-taker in the Vijay-Hazare 50-over competition and also for Gujarat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.
In an exclusive interview with Cricket Next, his childhood coach Kiran Tandel, who has been coaching the left-arm Parsi cricketer under his wings when he was 13-years-old, revealed what separates him from the rest of the squad. He said:
”Arzan came to me when he was 13 years old. Hunger for knowledge is what separates Arzan from others. He has that drive to make something of his life. Even when I wasn’t available for practice, he would call me up to enquire if I was free and ask to come down for drills.”
He added:
”We used to work a lot. We have a ground nearby where we prepared the wicket ourselves. He wasn’t aware of it at the start. One day I spotted him practicing without (wicket). I told him that we have to do everything ourselves. From then on, he himself used to make wickets in the afternoon and practice religiously. He hasn’t lost that ambition and spirit even today,”
When Nagwaswalla’s coach was asked about that one quality in Arzan Nagwaswalla that cricket fans should look forward to if and when gets a chance to play for India, his coach said that his ability to swing the ball is his prime asset. He said:
“He has been performing consistently in the past few years across formats. Whatever be the format, he has the ability to pick wickets. Swing is his strength. I think it must have come to the notice of them (selectors),” explains Tandel.
