Wassan hails India's move to not play Arshdeep Singh despite his T20I stats, lauds Oman for tough fight against India

New Delhi [India], September 20 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan hailed team India management for going for “horses for courses” and not playing Arshdeep Singh just because of his stature in T20I cricket as the country’s leading wicket-taker, calling the move “mature”. He also lauded Oman for showing a great fight against India in their 21-run loss to the Men in Blue.

India will be taking on Pakistan in their Super Four clash at Dubai on Sunday.

India went into the Super Four Stage without any loss, with Oman, an associate nation, giving them the toughest fight. Oman restricted India to a total of 188 runs and gave them a massive scare while chasing, scoring 167 runs at the loss of four wickets, with half-centuries from Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza.

It was during this match that Arshdeep got to play and complete his historic 100 T20I wickets, becoming the first Indian to do so. In his four overs, he took one wicket for 37 runs. Arshdeep had missed previous two matches against UAE and Pakistan, with India opting to play pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as sole specialist pacer and have a spin-heavy combination of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. Against Oman, India went for two pacers, Arshdeep and Harshit Rana, alongside spinners Kuldeep and Axar.

Speaking to ANI, Wassan said, “Everyone is talking about how Arshdeep is not playing. I say that it is something to be praised. Look at the maturity of the Indian cricket team. We are not playing someone on the basis of rating, name and standing on the field. We are playing with what is needed. This was not the case before, because big players played irrespective of fitness or form. But now, India goes for ‘horses for courses’.

“This is good for the team. Australia has been doing this for a long time. This maturity takes a lot of time to come. We have so much quality, even if two Indian teams play, they both will be playing the finals,” he added.

On Oman’s brilliant game against India on Friday, Wassan said, “We will have such odd matches every now and then where such lighter and inexperienced teams will push you to your limits. But look at your depth, that you still won. I think the match was a wake-up call, because they will talk about it and regroup. In every T20I team, there are two or three world-class players, and if they score, they can win their team a match. But in the longer format, the struggling team can find a way to comeback. Lightning falls on you in T20Is sometimes. I am very happy for Oman, that quality is getting better. Asian cricket is showing such great form, and India will not take anything for granted,” he added.

Coming to the match, India opted to bat first. After the early fall of vice-captain Shubman Gill for single-digits, a 66-run stand between Abhishek Sharma (38 in 15 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and Sanju Samson stabilised India. Sanju, who scored 56 in 45 balls, with three fours and three sixes, had valuable partnerships with Axar Patel (26 in 13 balls, with three fours and a six) and Tilak Varma (29 in 18 balls, with a four and two sixes), taking India to 188/9 in 20 overs. Shah Faisal (2/23) was the pick of the bowlers for Oman, with Kaleem and Jiten Ramanandi getting two wickets each.

In the run-chase, Oman started off well with a 56-run stand between Jatinder Singh, the skipper (32 in 33 balls, with five fours) and Kaleem. Kaleem (64 in 46 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Mirza (51 in 33 balls, with three fours and two sixes) troubled India with a 93-run stand, but Oman was restricted to 167/4.

Hardik, Arshdeep Singh (who completed 100 T20I wickets), Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana got a wicket each.

Samson got the ‘Player of the Match’ award. (ANI)

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