Batters don't trust their defence much anymore: Arshdeep Singh

Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer Arshdeep Singh delivered a stellar performance against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, April 1 in Lucknow, claiming three wickets. The left-arm quick has now taken five wickets in the first two matches of the IPL 2025 season. In this match, he made an immediate impact by dismissing LSG opener Mitchell Marsh in his very first over. His breakthroughs set the tone for PBKS, who secured a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

The 26-year-old pacer noted that batters today tend to rely less on their defensive techniques and are more inclined to attack the ball. The left-arm bowler admitted that this aggressive mindset plays to his advantage, as it allows him to plan his bowling lines effectively and set up the field accordingly.

“As you know nowadays, batsmen do not trust their defense much. They just want to go after the ball. So, I had two slips and a deep cover. So just in case the batsman swings and the ball goes up in the air, there is a fielder for me and I am attacking as well with two slips. The wicket at the end got better and I believe you have to stay till the end,” said the left-arm pacer to IPLT20.

Also read: IPL 2025: Predicting where each team will finish on the points table

The Punjab fast bowler has been a consistent wicket-taker in the IPL over the past few seasons. The Madhya Pradesh-born bowler had an impressive campaign in IPL 2021 claiming 18 wickets, followed by 17 wickets in IPL 2023, and 19 wickets in IPL 2024. On the international front, the pacer was the joint-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2024.

The Punjab Kings pacer felt that he could have performed better in the LSG game as the ball was stopping and there was more bounce on offer.

“I mean that’s pretty average on a wicket that was giving help to seam bowlers. I feel I could have bowled better and given less runs. So, in the powerplay, the ball was stopping and extra bounce was there. So, there was extra help. We could have hit the lengths for a bit more time and would have been a different score,” Singh said when he talked about the red soil pitch.

The Indian bowler has taken a total of 81 wickets in the IPL at an average of 26.08. In T20Is, he has picked up 99 wickets and is the highest wicket-taker for India in the format.