Arshdeep bowled five no-balls and conceded 37 runs in the two overs he bowled in the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka in Pune on Thursday, January 5. The Lankan Lions set a massive 207-run target for Hardik Pandya and Co. and eventually won the match by 16 runs.
During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked about his thoughts on Arshdeep Singh’s no-ball issues, to which he responded:
The former Indian opener blamed the lack of match practice for Arshdeep’s rhythm issues, explaining:
Arshdeep’s last competitive game was an ODI against New Zealand in November last year. He missed the first T20I against Sri Lanka as he had reportedly not fully recovered from an illness.
“This thing is not acceptable” - Gautam Gambhir on Arshdeep Singh overstepping on multiple occasions
Gambhir was further asked if he was hard on his bowlers when they bowled no-balls during his captaincy career, to which he replied:
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the extra runs conceded on the free hits made a telling difference in Thursday’s game, elaborating:
Arshdeep bowled three back-to-back no-balls in his first over, which went for 19 runs. He overstepped twice when called back to bowl the 19th over, with Dasun Shanaka getting a lifeline as he was caught by Suryakumar Yadav on the long-on boundary off the first no-ball.
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