India pacer Arshdeep Singh has signalled his ambition to break into Test cricket, using a rare red-ball outing at the 2026 Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Bengaluru to demonstrate the stamina and skill the longest format demands. The left-arm seamer, who has played 18 ODIs and 91 T20Is for India, is still awaiting his Test debut — a milestone that has remained elusive as his career has been shaped almost entirely by white-ball assignments.

A Statement Performance in Bengaluru

In the quarter-final clash against West Zone, Arshdeep delivered sustained spells across both innings, finishing with figures of 3/53 and 1/40 as North Zone sealed a 52-run victory. The match was only his 23rd first-class appearance — he had waited nearly a year between his 22nd and 23rd games, underscoring just how infrequent red-ball cricket has been for him at this stage of his career.

'Very rarely do I get the chance to play red-ball cricket, and this was a chance. I wanted to showcase my skill set and just see how many overs I can bowl. The rhythm feels nice. After a long time, I was playing a red-ball game. I put in a lot of hours in practice, and it felt nice. The body is sore, but it's a good sore because we got the win,' Arshdeep said after the match.

Targeted Training and a Shift in Mindset

The 27-year-old said he deliberately recalibrated his training ahead of the Duleep Trophy, switching his practice focus from white-ball to red-ball bowling. 'This time around, I knew the Duleep Trophy was coming, I was practising with red ball. When white-ball season is coming, then you practice with the white ball. It's very specific training based on what kind of season is coming in front of you,' he explained.

North Zone head coach Ajay Sharma also played a role in resetting Arshdeep's approach to the format. Sharma reminded him of red-ball cricket's defining characteristic — the opportunity to keep returning to the attack across long spells. 'Even if you don't get wickets with the new ball, you have a chance to come back in the second spell. Red ball has that beauty of giving you a chance again,' Arshdeep recalled Sharma telling him.

The County Cricket Question

Arshdeep has prior experience of red-ball cricket in English conditions, having represented Kent in five county matches in 2023. He acknowledged the value of that exposure but conceded that India's packed domestic and international calendar now makes another county stint impractical.

'Whenever you get a chance, whenever there is a time frame you can go to England to play county cricket, that is a really good experience, but now, with the IPL, the white-ball season at home, and domestic cricket also going on, you can't go play county,' he said, adding that he and his peers are committed to keeping the standard of Indian domestic cricket high.

Reading the Bengaluru Surface

The Bengaluru pitch presented an unusual challenge — overcast conditions that might typically assist seamers, but a surface that actually favoured spinners. Arshdeep said it required tactical flexibility rather than reliance on conventional seam movement.

'On wickets like this, you just have to play with the mind. Sometimes you get success, sometimes you get hit for an across-the-line six as well. So you got to take both and just keep trying,' he said. He drew a clear distinction between bowling on a responsive pitch — where patience and consistent lengths are key — and a flat surface, where varying field placements and plans become the primary weapons.

With the 2026 Duleep Trophy offering selectors a rare extended look at Arshdeep in red-ball conditions, his campaign to earn a Test cap appears to be gathering momentum.