An Oddsworth Opinion
What Arshdeep Singh's record year for India is really counting
The view doing the rounds is that Arshdeep Singh's 38 wickets in men's T20 internationals this calendar year have set a new Indian mark, one clear of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 37. What the tally proves is another matter, because across all men's T20 cricket over the last two years Arshdeep has gone for 9.31 runs an over, against an average economy of 8.11 for bowlers in that period.
How India's fixture list builds a wickets record
A calendar-year record is a count, and counts reward turning up as much as they reward excellence. India played ten T20s between 17 September and 22 October, five of them against West Indies in October, and a side that busy, and that good, keeps handing its seamers overs. Our team ratings have India top of the men's T20 list, 42 runs a match better than an average side. Every extra fixture is another four overs in which to take wickets, and the record works like a loyalty card, stamped at every visit whatever the meal cost.
- WAfghanistanWon by 127 runs v Afghanistan, 2026-09-17
- WJapanWon by 2 runs v Japan, 2026-09-22
- WSri LankaWon by 124 runs v Sri Lanka, 2026-10-01
- WPakistanWon by 19 runs v Pakistan, 2026-10-03
- WWest IndiesWon by 8 wickets v West Indies, 2026-10-06
- LWest IndiesLost by 6 wickets v West Indies, 2026-10-09
- WWest IndiesWon by 14 runs v West Indies, 2026-10-11
- LWest IndiesLost by 24 runs v West Indies, 2026-10-14
- NRWest IndiesNo result v West Indies, 2026-10-17
- WNew ZealandWon by 4 wickets v New Zealand, 2026-10-22
What the West Indies series showed
The series against West Indies was high-scoring almost from start to finish. West Indies chased 249 at the JSCA International Stadium Complex and made 247 for three at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, and Arshdeep kept taking wickets while the scoreboard ran away from him. His best night was three for 44 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, in a match India won. His most expensive was one for 52 in the fourth match, which India lost.
1.3 a match in his career
What our ratings make of Arshdeep Singh
Our ratings judge a bowler on the runs he gives away as well as the wickets he takes. They put Arshdeep 68th of 145 men's T20 bowlers, worth 0.28 runs a match more than an average one. That is the profile of a durable international seamer who is picked often and bowls his full quota, and India have leaned on him heavily.
What the record proves is how much India trusted him with the ball, and on the runs he concedes he is a sound, middle-of-the-pack T20 seamer whose record rewards selection and stamina more than tight bowling.