'He should be going to domestic cricket and get his rhythm back' - Gautam Gambhir furious after Arshdeep Singh's shocking performance

Sri Lanka defeated India in another nail-biting affair in the second T20I to level the three-match series. Their victory came on the back of a phenomenal performance from their batters, who took full advantage of hapless bowling from the Indian pacers. Rising India fast bowler Arshdeep Singh was, in particular, in thick of things for his poor outing. 

The left-arm pacer bowled just two overs, conceding 37 runs and dishing out five no-balls. However, his run in the second T20I was backed by Team India head coach Rahul Dravid but former India opener Gautam Gambhir did not mince words while talking about the returning pacer. The ex-cricketer reckoned Arshdeep should be playing domestic cricket to get back his rhythm before returning to the Indian team.

"If you are coming after an injury, you should not be playing an international game. You should be going to domestic cricket and getting your rhythm back because no-balls are not acceptable. Whoever is injured and there is a long layoff, he has to go back to domestic cricket, bowl 15-20 overs, come back, and then play an international game, and that was squarely seen when Arshdeep Singh was struggling with his rhythm," Gambhir said during a post-match discussion on Star Sports.

Bowlers can bowl those shocking deliveries but this thing is not acceptable: Gambhir

Gambhir, who guided Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles during his captaincy stint, further elaborated on Arshdeep's no-ball issues. He reckoned that the youngster must be overstepping in the nets as well, which is why he frequently oversteps in matches. He urged the bowling coach to step in and rectify this by implementing a strict regime during the practice sessions. 

"As I just mentioned, you can have a shocker. Fielders can have a shocker, batters can play bad shots, bowlers can bowl those shocking deliveries but this thing is not acceptable. You might be doing it in the nets, during the practice sessions, that's the reason you do it in the match as well. So it's up to the bowling coach to probably work on that as well because you have got to be harsh in the practice sessions. You just can't blame something else," he added.

For Better Experience: Download CricTracker Mobile App