'We know how valuable he is to the team and but we also needed to look at other combinations and he understands that.'
He might have got the rough end of the stick in selection matters but Arshdeep Singh has enough experience to understand that the Indian team management is trying different combinations looking at the bigger picture, bowling coach Morne Morkel said on Wednesday.
Arshdeep was adjudged player of the match on his comeback to the playing XI in the third T20 International against Australia in Hobart.
However, he wasn't picked in the first two games as the Indian team management doesn't want him and Kuldeep Yadav together in the playing XI as it weakens their lower order batting. He was also not the first choice in the Asia Cup in September because of the slow pitches in Dubai.
Notably, Arshdeep is India's leading wicket-taker in T20 Internationals with an impressive record of 104 wickets from 66 games, with best figures of 4/9.
"Arshdeep is experienced and he knows that we are looking at the bigger picture and trying out different combinations. He knows he is a world-class bowler and taken most wickets in the Powerplay," Morkel said ahead of the fourth T20 International, in Gold Coast, on Thursday.
"We know how valuable he is to the team and but we also needed to look at other combinations and he understands that," he added.
Morkel, however, conceded that for a bowler of Arshdeep's calibre it hasn't exactly been easy.
"It is not easy, There will always be disappointment in terms of players and selection, but that is something at times that, as a player, is uncontrollable," the former Proteas great tried to rationalise the decisions taken.
With only 10 T20Is left after this series ahead of , Morkel and the coaching staff's only advice to players is to put their best foot forward in pressure situations
"For us, from our side, we just keep on asking them to work hard and be ready for when they do get the opportunity. There are limited games now leading into the T20 World Cup.
"So, it is essential for us to see how the players can react in certain situations under pressure; otherwise, it will be unknown to us. So, it is a bit of playing those sort of games and then still having the mindset to win the game of cricket," said Morkel.
For the bowling coach, it is only fair that they check on multiple options.
"You need to have options available. I think every team, if you look across the world, is playing around with options," he said adding that unless they experiment, they would never know what works on a given day.
"...I think in this game you need to be adaptable. You need to know where certain players can give you options in different roles. And if you are not going to try those roles and see how they handle the pressure in those situations, you are never going to know," he added.
The Gambhir headlined coaching staff doesn't want to leave any stone unturned in preparations considering the T20 World Cup is less than three months away.
"You do not want to sit two years down the line and say, if only we tried that, or give this combination a bit more time, it would have developed. So yes, I think it is about playing it smartly," Morkel stated.