Durban [South Africa], November 7 : As India prepare to take on South Africa in a four-match T20I series, Men in Blue seamer Arshdeep Singh will be looking forward to achieving an elusive landmark in the 20-over format.
Arshdeep played his maiden T20I match in 2022 against England, following that he appeared in 56 20-over matches and picked up 87 wickets at an economy rate of 8.28.
Recently, Arshdeep has appeared in the T20I series against Bangladesh, where he has picked four wickets at an average of 10.00 in two innings.
In the upcoming series against the Proteas, Arshdeep will be eyeing to become India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is and the first Indian to take 100 wickets in T20is as well.
Presently, Yuzvendra Chahal is the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is with 96 wickets at an economy rate of 8.19 from 80 matches.
Interestingly, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be eyeing to achieve the same milestones as Arshdeep since both the Indians have 87 wickets in T20Is.
Hardik made his T20I debut in 2016 against Australia and played 105 20-over matches and 93 innings, picking up 87 wickets at an economy rate of 8.17. In the recently concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, Hardik Panda showcased an average with the ball as he picked up just one wicket in two innings.
Top India pacer Jasprit Bumrah won't be competing in the race to achieve the milestones in the upcoming T20I series against South Africa since the 30-year-old has been rested for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
Bumrah, currently, is the third-highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is with 89 wickets at an economy rate of 6.27 from 70 matches.
The series between India and South Africa begins on November 8 at Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.
St George's Park in Gqeberha will host the second T20I on November 10, with the third game scheduled for SuperSport Park in Centurion on November 13. The series concludes with the fourth T20I at Wanderers Stadium on November 15.
India's T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.