Equally important for Arshdeep Singh to sort out his no balls: Gautam Gambhir

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir believes that apart from variations in pace, it is equally important for left-arm fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh to sort out his issue of bowling no-balls.

Arshdeep had made his T20I debut against England in July 2022, picking 33 wickets in 21 matches during the year at an average of 18.12, strike rate of 13.30 and economy rate of 8.17.

He also stepped up admirably in Jasprit Bumrah's absence to pick ten wickets for India in the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia and even earned a nomination for ICC Emerging Men's Cricketer of the Year award.

But he has been leaking runs in his recent T20I appearances, with his economy rate in T20Is since the T20 World Cup ended standing at 10.24. "You gonna have something different up your sleeves whether it's a slower one or a slower bouncer. Some kind of variation. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the speed to actually rattle the batsmen. So he's got to develop some variation."

"He is not Umran Malik, he's not Mohammed Siraj. So one thing he needs to do is probably try and keep it very simple and sort his no balls out which is equally important," Gambhir was quoted as saying by Star Sports.

Arshdeep had conceded five no-balls against Sri Lanka in the 2nd T20I at Pune earlier this month, the most conceded by an Indian bowler. In the first T20I against New Zealand, Arshdeep conceded 27 runs in his last over, including a no-ball, in a match where India eventually lost.

But he came back to pick 2/7 in India's tight six-wicket win on a spinning pitch in Lucknow. "These numbers are fine, It can go south and it can go north. But the most important thing is you can't afford to bowl those no-balls. That is absolutely unacceptable, especially at this level, and it can come back to hurt you and the team big time."

"Just keep the basics right. See, World Cup conditions are completely different from what you normally get back home. In Australia, it was swinging and it was still bouncing, decent carry as well with the new ball. But when you play at the sub-continent, these are flat wickets," added Gambhir.

With the three-match T20I series now levelled at 1-1, India and New Zealand will play the decider at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

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