Arshdeep Singh vs Sahibzada Farhan - (Source: AFP)
In the ongoing India vs Pakistan match at the Asia Cup T20 2025 final at the Dubai International Stadium, Pakistan have got off to a flyer as the Salman Ali Agha-led side stitched a fifty-run opening stand for the first time against India in this tournament.
Sahibzada Farhan was again the dangerous man for the Men in Blue, as the right-handed batter scored his consecutive fifty-plus score against India. Farhan returned to the pavilion with a score of 57 (38), which featured five fours and three sixes.
Did India make a mistake by not playing Arshdeep?
Notably, in the ongoing match, India are without Hardik Pandya, who is known to unleash a beast mode against Pakistan. However, in Pandya's absence, it seems that the Men in Blue made a grave mistake by not picking up Arshdeep Singh.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led side went ahead with just a solitary seamer - Jasprit Bumrah and opted for Shivam Dube as the next seamer. However,
This article will shed light on how Arshdeep could have posed a real threat against Farhan.
1. Farhan struggles against left-arm seamers
Notably, Farhan, who is Pakistan's leading run getter in this tournament, struggles against left-arm seamers. If we look at Farhan's stats, then he has amassed just 38 runs in 37 balls, batting at a strike rate of just above 100.
Further, Farhan has gotten out on two occasions against left-arm seamers. Looking at Sahibzada's game, he just has to use the mid-on area to score runs and dance down the wicket. Thus, having Arshdeep in the team would have solved India's crisis against Farhan.
Sahibzada Farhan's Stats against left-arm seamers
| Criteria | Data |
| Innings | 12 |
| Runs | 52 |
| Balls | 49 |
| Dot% | 63.3 |
| Strike-Rate | 106.1 |
| Average | 10.4 |
Thus, the stats clearly shows that Farhan tends to struggle against left-armers and having Arshdeep Singh would have created an physiological impact on the batter's mind.
2. Arshdeep's ability to swing both ways
As mentioned above, Farhan tends to move across the pitch and with a quality bowler like Arshdeep, who can swing the ball both ways, would have been a real danger for the right-handed batter.
Also, irrespective of Farhan's abilities, Arshdeep Singh too has his skillsets and his ability to take wickets in the powerplay is superior to any other bowler in the Indian team, which justifies why he is India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is.
