Not only Indian fans but also former cricketers are baffled by the new snub towards Arshdeep Singh from the Indian T20I side. India’s leading wicket-taker has not been considered in the first-choice squad and is at a disadvantage.
India are playing the first T20I of their Australian tour in Canberra. The Men in Blue have been unbeatable in the shortest format of the game since being crowned champions at the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024. India will also host the upcoming 2026 ICC T20 World Cup.
Gautam Gambhir has once again made a troubling change to the Indian squad by removing veteran Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh. They face another blow with Nitish Kumar Reddy being ruled out of the first three matches of the series.
Your daily cricket intake!
Irrfan Parsan criticizes Gautam Gambhir, yet another cruel criticism pours in
Gautam Gambhir’s obsession with batting depth across formats has never been appreciated by any former player. However, Gambhir did not change his mind as he has achieved great results with the unusual XI.
Coach Irfan Pathan had earlier accused Gambhir of disrespecting Arshdeep Singh as he was the best pacer in the shortest format of the game. The left-arm pacer was the first Indian bowler to complete 100 wickets in T20Is.
After disrespecting Arshdeep Singh again, Pathan instigated a brutal trolling against Gambhir when he posted a post mentioning Arshdeep Singh’s name on his X-handle.
Arshdeep Singh…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 29, 2025
“Arshdeep Singh deserves better treatment,” Priyank Panchal said.
Fellow former Indian cricketer Priyank Panchal said with the World Cup less than four months away, no other cricketing nation has ignored its top wicket-taker in so many cases.
“Despite the World Cup being four months away, the number of countries that consistently keep their best wicket-takers in formats outside the eleven is very limited. Arshdeep deserves better treatment,” wrote former Indian cricketer Priyank Panchal.
With the World Cup just four months away, there are a very small number of countries that are so consistently top wicket-takers in non-best eleven formats. Arshdeep needs better treatment. #Auswin
— Priyank Panchal (@PKpanchal09) October 29, 2025
However, Gautam Gambhir might be looking forward to playing with multiple spinners in this format, considering that Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy will need some game time as the World Cup will be held in the subcontinent.
Rinku Singh gets snubbed again after Asia Cup 2025
Indian middle-order batsman Rinku Singh entered the Indian team as a finisher and he too has made commendable growth in that role. However, after Rinku’s unconvincing performances domestically and in the IPL, he has been kept away from playing as a player.
Despite Hardik Pandya’s absence, India did not feature Rinku in the side and instead opted for Sanju Samson at number two. He was fifth, with World Cup winner Shivam Dube second. 6. The last time he played for India was in the Asia Cup final. However, Harshit Rana is included in the no. Number 8 kicked the batsman out of the XI.
Related article: Saim Ayub shoots down Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan with a single bullet