“That’s a new skill that he’s added”

Former captain Ricky Ponting praised Team India star Arshdeep Singh ahead of their T20 World Cup 2026 clash against Namibia. The Men in Blue will play Namibia on Thursday, February 12, in Delhi.

Ahead of the same, Ricky Ponting highlighted a new skill that the Indian pacer had developed, which was on display during their opening game against the USA. Ponting has worked closely with Arshdeep at the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL, being their head coach.

“One thing I did notice last night is actually he’s developed in his bowling a different slow ball than he usually has. He bowled like almost one that rolled out the side of his fingers yesterday like a little in-swinger type ball to a left-hander which will obviously swing a little bit across the right-hander as well. So that’s a new skill that he’s added,” he said on the ICC Review Podcast.

Arshdeep bowled a solid spell against the USA. India defended a total of 161/9, restricting the opponents to 132/8. The left-arm pacer was amongst the wickets and economical as well, returning figures of 2/18 from four overs.

“Very much deserves his place in this Indian starting XI” – Ricky Ponting on Arshdeep Singh

Further, Ricky Ponting regarded Arshdeep Singh as a highly skilled bowler. He highlighted his skills of being able to move the ball both ways, his variations, and his yorkers, which made him worthy of a place in India’s playing XI in the T20I side.

“He’s a highly skilled bowler anyway. Ravi mentioned it, the fastest 100 T20 wickets, that speaks volumes for what he can do with the new ball and with the old ball. And he’s very much, like all fast bowlers, really very much a confidence and rhythm bowler. You can see, you know, you can pretty much see with Arshdeep in his run-up. You know if he’s on with the way that he’s attacking the crease and how hard he’s hitting the crease. And yeah, the skills are all there. You know, the in-swinger to the right-hand is there. The out-swinger to the right-hand is there. The around-the-wicket variations are there for him. His yorkers are as good as anybody. So he very much deserves his place in this Indian starting XI,” he said.

Arshdeep has been a consistent wicket-taker for India in T20Is. In 77 games, he has bagged 120 wickets at an average of 18.88 and an economy rate of 8.47.