Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has slammed left-arm fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh for bowling five no balls in his two-over spell during the hosts' 16-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the second T20I at Pune.
Arshdeep, who returned to Indian colours after missing the opening T20I in Mumbai due to an illness, had a torrid time with the ball in Pune, conceding 37 runs off just the two overs he bowled against Sri Lanka and even gave away no-balls three consecutive times in his first over of the match.
"As a professional, you can't be doing this. We often hear that today's players say, things aren't in our control. Not bowling no ball is in your control. What happens after you deliver the ball, what the batsman does, is another thing.
Not bowling a no ball is definitely in your control," said Gavaskar when he was on his commentary duty for broadcasters Star Sports. Arshdeep last featured for India in November 2022 during the white-ball tour of New Zealand.
Him bowling no balls on a day when the young Indian bowling attack conceded 11 extra is something which unimpressed captain Hardik Pandya. "You can have a good day, you can have a bad day, but you shouldn't be moving away from the basics.
For Arshdeep, in this situation, it is very difficult. It is not about blaming him or being too hard on him, but we know no-balls in any format is a crime," Pandya said after the match ended. But veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik came out in support of Arshdeep on Twitter.
"You've got to feel for Arshdeep Singh, just lack of match practice. It's never easy," he said in a tweet. The three-match T20I series between India and Sri Lanka will now be decided in the last match of the series at SCA Stadium in Rajkot on Saturday.