Gautam Gambhir stresses the significance of Arshdeep Singh fixing his no-balls problem

Gautam Gambhir, former Indian cricketer, recently spoke about the importance of left-arm fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh sorting out his no-ball issues. Arshdeep made his T20I debut in July 2022 and had a successful year, picking 33 wickets in 21 matches and earning a nomination for the ICC Emerging Men's Cricketer of the Year award. However, he has been struggling with his economy rate in recent T20I appearances, standing at 10.24 since the T20 World Cup ended. Gambhir believes that apart from variations in pace, it is crucial for Arshdeep to fix his no-ball issue.

Gambhir said, "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 further added, "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."

Arshdeep had a rough outing in the recent T20I against Sri Lanka, conceding five no-balls, the most by an Indian bowler. In the first T20I against New Zealand, he conceded 27 runs in his last over, including a no-ball, which eventually led to India's loss. However, he made a comeback in the second T20I against New Zealand, picking 2/7 in India's tight six-wicket win on a spinning pitch in Lucknow.

Gambhir stated, "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." He emphasized the importance of keeping the basics right, stating that World Cup conditions are completely different from what is normally seen back home. He added, "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."

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