Cricket News

Former India cricketer slams Arshdeep Singh for no ball fiasco in the second T20 against Sri Lanka

India lost the second T20I by 16 runs to Sri Lanka in Pune. The bowling from India was listless, and even more so for the talented left-armer, Arshdeep Singh, as he bowled seven no balls and went for plenty. Arshdeep bowled three of the no balls only in the second over of the game, conceding 19 runs. Then he again bowled two no balls in the 19th over and conceded 18 runs. Umran Malik and Shivam Mavi also bowled a no ball each.

While everyone labelled the no ball error as the main reason behind the loss, Former India batter Gautam Gambhir had a different trail of thought. He revealed the potential reason behind India bowling a lot of no balls in the post-match show on Star Sports. He in particular gave a startling statement about Arshdeep.

“Imagine seven balls, it’s like bowling more than 21 overs. Everyone bowls bad balls or plays bad shots but it’s about the rhythm. If you are coming after an injury, you should not be playing an international game,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.

The bowling coach has to address the no ball issue-  Gautam Gambhir

“You should be going to domestic cricket and getting your rhythm back because no-balls are not acceptable. Whoever is injured and there is a long layoff, he has to go back to domestic cricket, bowl 15-20 overs, come back and then play an international game, and that was squarely seen when Arshdeep Singh was struggling with his rhythm,” He added.

The former India left-hander also put out a strong opinion that the bowlers would be bowling no balls in the practice sessions which has also led to bowlers repeating the same mistakes in the match. In this case, the mistake went on to hurt India very badly.

You might be doing it in the nets, during the practice sessions, that’s the reason you do it in the match as well” ”So it’s up to the bowling coach to probably work on that as well because you have got to be harsh in the practice sessions. You just can’t blame something else. Yes, it is tough for the captain to set fields. Seven no-balls and imagine conceding 30-odd runs in those seven balls was a massive difference,” Gambhir opined.