T20 World Cup: Bowlers more than happy to do dirty job as long as our batters can play freely, says Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh is candid by nature and funny by default. It was no surprise, then, that a throng of sports scribes swarmed the left-arm pacer, thrusting recording devices forward, as he walked into the mixed zone at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

“I thought you guys were going to beat me up,” Arshdeep quipped, setting the ball rolling.

Even as the conversation veered into technical territory, Arshdeep retained his wit and humour.

The 27-year-old understands that T20s are tough on bowlers. “I try to keep things simple. Some days are good and some days are not, and I make peace with it,” he said after India’s 72-run win over Zimbabwe on Thursday.

Asked if he was trying to improve anything specific, he added: “[I’m] trying to control the urge to bowl bad balls. Yes, mainly that.”

Arshdeep’s three for 24 against Zimbabwe made him the Men in Blue’s leading wicket-taker (35 scalps) in T20 World Cup history, surpassing Jasprit Bumrah (33).

“Even if we go for runs, it’s not a problem. Our gameplan has been like this for the last two years. We score a lot and try to defend it. So as long as we keep getting pitches on which our batters can play freely, we [bowlers] are more than happy to do the dirty job.”

The Punjab bowler thanked South Africa for beating West Indies, a result that eased some pressure on India’s title defence.

“My family was in the room when the WI batters were hitting, papa gaali dete the ki kya kar raha hai (father was abusing what are they doing). So I was like, ‘it’s okay, don’t be angry and just enjoy the match and hope South Africa wins, and we also win our remaining matches.’ Thank you to South Africa for giving us the chance to decide our result… now we will try to not lose in the finals,” he said.

Asked if the West Indies’ aggressive approach might backfire against India, Arshdeep said: “It’s not really [just] one gear. They played really well in the middle overs [against South Africa] and took the game deep. It shows they can adapt to the situation”.