After the BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming World Test Championship final against New Zealand, a lot of interest has been in the direction of one of the four reserve players on the list – Arzan Nagwaswalla. Since he hasn’t ever featured in the IPL, there is growing curiosity to know who he is and what his origins are.
Born in Surat, the left-arm medium-fast bowler rose with his skills in Nagrol, a small Gujarat village close to the border of Maharashtra. Azan Rohinton Nagwaswalla had represented his state in the under-16, under-19, and under-23 age categories. His district coach had high praise for him as he informed that Arzan has been a consistent performer and did really well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament last year, along with the T20 and 50 overs. Santosh Desai also thinks that the left-arm pacer deserves an opportunity to feature in the IPL.
The Gujarat bowler, who has also been selected for a five-test series against England, has substantial backing behind the selection with his career statistics so far. In 2018 in Ranji Trophy, he picked Yusuf Pathan’s wicket while playing against Baroda. However, he began his path towards fame when he was up against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium, conceding only 78 runs in 23.3 overs, taking 5 wickets in the process.
He continued his scintillating run of form in the next year of Ranji Trophy in 2019-20 where he took 41 wickets in 8 matches, becoming the leading wicket-taker for his state team. With a bowling average of 18.36 and strike rate of 39.4, he achieved three 5-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket haul in the tournament.
With his 39 wickets in 20, A list matches with an average of 21.76 and a strike rate of 24.9, his record in T20s has been commendable. Furthermore, with 19 wickets in 7 matches in the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was rendered the second-highest wicket-taker in the competition where he helped his team reach the semi-final.
