India’s ace pacer Arshdeep Singh was not featured in the recent five-match Test series in England, though injuries surrounded other pacers in the team, and Jasprit Bumrah was having an extra payload. Just ahead of the fourth Test against England, Arshdeep suffered a left thumb injury that ruled him out of the fourth and fifth Tests.

He opened up on his recent struggles at the sidelines of the ongoing Duleep Trophy, where he is playing for North Zone, as they take on East Zone in Bengaluru.

Singh, who will be heading to the UAE after this for India’s Asia Cup campaign, said, as quoted by Hindustan Times, “Mentally, in the last two months, I have learnt how to enjoy the boring time. In Test cricket or red-ball matches, there is a time when the work gets boring. Like the session after lunch, the ball doesn’t do anything… how can you enjoy that?”

He also credited Mohammed Siraj for motivating him. He said, “I spoke to Siraj, he told me that when nothing is happening, how you enjoy that phase will tell you how successful you can be in red-ball cricket. He gave me this small tip and I really liked it.”

“The same thing happened here. They (East Zone) were just down four wickets and the ball wasn’t doing anything. So, that was the main motive… how to enjoy each other’s company. That’s how the results came,” he added.

Though he only got one wicket in the match so far, Arshdeep is satisfied and believes his strengths have been further nurtured.

“This game, I felt really good. The last couple of months I was with the (Indian) team, trained a lot, bowled a lot and worked a lot with the S&C (strength and conditioning). Here, I bowled a decent long spell, 17 overs. It is coming out well, and the body feels well,” he detailed.

Meanwhile, with Harshit Rana included in the squad, Arshdeep will face stiff competition for getting selected in the Asia Cup playing XI. Despite a key player, Singh faces tough challenge from all-rounder Hardik Pandya too.