Ricky Ponting says Arshdeep Singh should be in India’s playing XI for first Test against England

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has backed Arshdeep Singh’s selection in India’s playing XI for the first Test against England. Ponting observed Singh from close quarters while coaching Punjab Kings in IPL 2025.

The left-arm pacer scalped 21 wickets in 17 matches of the tournament and played a key role in taking PBKS to the final of the competition. 

Meanwhile, Singh received his maiden Test call-up and he would look to deliver his best in the English conditions. The 26-year-old also has the experience of playing County cricket and he would look to make the most of it.

“I would actually have him in their Test team at the start (of the England series). He’s very skillful, he has played County cricket, he knows the conditions there and the Dukes Ball will help him in the UK as well,” Ponting said on ICC Review.

“To have that point of difference, having a left-armer in your team, will be something that if India don’t do it then it’ll be a bit of a surprise to me. As we know, in England the ball still swings (be it) 30, 40 or 50 overs old. To have someone that’s got that swing bowling ability and a left-armer, (it) is something that the Indian team should definitely look out for on that tour,” he added.

Meanwhile, India will be without the services of their veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, Ponting expects India to handle the transitional phase as there is a lot of talent in the upcoming players.

“It’s always very hard to replace players like that, (given) that have been around for so long that have played that much Test cricket. But if any country can do it and do it quickly, India can, because of the amount of young talent that they have,” Ponting said.

“I’ve seen it first hand for 10 years now around the IPL and we’ve seen the emergence of (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and these sort of guys that have come into international cricket with India and (have) done really well pretty much straight away. The skill side of it is one thing to replace, and India will replace the skill side of it easily enough, but the experience is the big thing that’s going to be missing for them.”

He continued, “Now even with a young captain with Shubman Gill, they’ll still have some experience around with KL Rahul and Bumrah and these sort of guys. But if you look at a rebuilding sort of phase, India can cope with it better than most other teams.”

The opening Test match between India and England will be played at Leeds, Headingley, from June 20 onwards.