For years, the Indian cricket team has craved a potent left-arm seamer in T20Is. Someone to unsettle right-handed batters, create angles, and provide variety alongside the fiery pace of Jasprit Bumrah. While the hunt continues, the past five years have seen several promising left-armers don the blue jersey, each with their own strengths and struggles. Let’s take a look at 4 left-arm pacers Team India tried in the last 5 years.
Khaleel Ahmed
The lanky speedster from Rajasthan burst onto the scene in 2018, after bamboozling batters with his raw pace and swing in the domestic circuit. He made his debut in the T20I series vs West Indies in 2018. In the 6 matches he played that year, he took 6 wickets. The following year, he played further 8 matches and took 7 wickets and was dropped from the team.
T Natarajan
The yorker specialist from Tamil Nadu emerged as a surprise package in 2020. His pinpoint accuracy and deceptive slower balls made him a death-overs weapon. He made an incredible debut against Australia that too in Australia. In the 3 matches he played during that series, he took a total of 6 wickets. However, it went downhill from there, he played only one match in 2021 and suffered an injury, after which he never made it back to the Indian team again.
Chetan Sakariya
The Saurashtra southpaw brought a different flavor in 2021. His gentle swing, skiddy pace, and variations made him a thinking bowler, adept at exploiting the pitch. But, the international stage proved a different beast. Sakariya made his T20I debut for India against Sri Lanka and in the 2 matches he played, he has taken only 1 wicket. He has been going through a downfall recently in the IPL too and has been released ahead of IPL 2024 Auction.
Arshdeep Singh
The left-arm sensation from Punjab is the latest torchbearer of India’s left-arm hopes. His pinpoint yorkers, controlled swing have impressed the Indian cricket fans and he is by far the most successful of the mentioned names in this list. Arshdeep made his debut for India against England and has become an instant hit already. He has since his debut, played 40 T20I matches and has taken 58 wickets. Time will tell if he can be the answer India has been searching for.
