'India ko unka doosra Zaheer Khan mil gaya hai': Pakistan star on Arshdeep

Team India registered an impressive 8-wicket victory over South Africa in the first T20I of the series in Thiruvananthapuram. India had restricted the Proteas to merely 106/8 in 20 overs before chasing down the target in the 17th over, with opener KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav scoring unbeaten half-centuries. However, it was the opening bowling duo of Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh who played a key role in India's win, as they worked in tandem to reduce South Africa to 9/5 in the Powerplay, with Arshdeep picking three wickets – all in a single over. The left-arm pacer eventually ended with figures of 3/32 in four overs and was named the player of the match, and former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal lavished huge praise on the 23-year-old Indian bowler. Akmal, who had lifted the T20 World Cup in 2009 with Pakistan, believes that India have found their “next Zaheer Khan” in Arshdeep. Also read: 'India made a mistake. But if they're brave enough, they can replace Bumrah with...': Pakistan great's massive statement “Arshdeep Singh is an incredible bowler. Mere khyaal se Indian team ko doosra Zaheer Khan mil gaya hai. Pace aur swing dono hain, aur samajhdaari se bowling karta hai. Mentally strong hai, usko pata hai uski ability kya hai, kaise condition ko use karna hai (I think the Indian team has found its next Zaheer Khan. Arshdeep has both, pace and swing, and he has that bowling intelligence. He's mentally strong and knows his abilities, and uses them according to the conditions.),” Akmal said on his official YouTube channel. Akmal further stated that Arshdeep possess bowling intelligence and maturity while still being young, which is a good sign for the Indian team. “Usne Rilee Russouw ko caught-behind karaaya, De Kock ko bowled kiya. Sabse achha approach David Miller ke against tha, bahar nikaalta raha aur ek inswing se bowled kiya. Unbelievable. Badi zabardast aur maturity ke saath bowling kiya hai. Pace hai, young bhi hai, good sign for Team India ki aisa bowler mila hai inko. Left armer ki zarurat bhi thi unko kyunki Zaheer ke baad koi aa nahi raha tha. (He dismissed Rilee Russouw caught-behind, bowled De Kock out. But the best wicket was that of David Miller because he kept getting the ball to move away from him before bowling a sharp inswinger to bowl him out. He bowls brilliant and he is mature, has pace and is still young. It's a good sign for Team India because they needed a left-armer after Zaheer Khan),” said Akmal. India will return to action on October 2 for the second T20I of the series in Guwahati. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON

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