As dholis played Punjabi beats to welcome him, T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh was given warm hugs by his parents Darshan Singh Aulakh and Baljit Kaur and his sister Gurleen Kaur the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali Saturday evening.
The 25-year-old pacer, the joint highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets in the T20 World Cup hosted jointly by the US and West Indies, shared his joy on getting such a warm welcome after winning the tournament.
“I am happy that I could play my part for India to win the T20 World Cup. Seeing people and fans welcoming you with so much passion feels special to me and my whole family,” Singh told mediapersons on his arrival from Mumbai.
The cricketer, one of the three Indian bowlers after Jhulan Goswami and Ajit Agarkar, to start his T20I career with a maiden over, had made his T20 International debut against England at Southampton in July 2022. The Kharar native, who would cycle or travel in a bus to train under coach Jaswant Rai in Chandigarh during his junior days, took two wickets in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa last week. The lanky Indian pacer was welcomed by a procession with family members and fans taking him from the airport to Kharar in an open jeep.
“While we saw him holding the World T20 trophy at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, we all were waiting to welcome him here at home. We came to Chandigarh on Thursday and had been busy making arrangements for his arrival. Hard work and dedication led Arshdeep to this moment. We will go to Sohana Sahib Gurdwara to pay our obeisances and then there will be a celebration at our home too,” Arshdeep’s father said.
