New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Punjab Kings' (PBKS) fast bowler Arshdeep Singh said after spending his first year at the franchise, he felt strongly about being given a significant responsibility, which in turn has helped him grow as a player and human being.

Arshdeep joined PBKS ahead of the 2019 IPL and since then, he’s been an integral part of the unit, picking 84 wickets in 71 games at an average of 26.82 and an economy rate of 9.

"Ever since I came to Punjab Kings, barring the first year, I started feeling seniority in my role. I have been associated with this team for the last seven years and after spending my first year with the team, I started feeling that I have been given huge responsibility in the team. This also helped me grow as a player and person,” Arshdeep stated in a video posted by the franchise on YouTube in Thursday.

Arshdeep’s breakthrough IPL season came in 2021, when he picked 18 wickets in 12 matches. He took 10 wickets in 2022, including holding his nerve in a Super Over against Mumbai Indians. That propelled him to get into the India T20I team, where Arshdeep was a member of the team that won the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup and also won the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year award.

Arshdeep further elaborated on how this seniority feeling shaped his approach to the game, especially in high-pressure situations. "The elevation in my role and growth came pretty early and hence, I knew that I could not mess up at crucial stages because at those times, not working as per the plan can put the team in serious trouble. Hence, I became serious and started feeling like a senior way too early."

He signed off by talking about his approach towards facing online trolls. "I have had ups and downs in my career. I have seen the highest point as well as the lowest point in a very short span. But I feel very entertained by these trolls.

“I laugh at their creativity and memes. Earlier, I used to save these memes and messages so I could use those later but now I feel they don’t make any sense. However, I still enjoy looking at people’s creativity.” PBKS will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.