“If Arshdeep is having this bad habit, he should get that out of his system” - Farveez Maharoof on Indian pacer’s no-ball problem

Former Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof has stated that Arshdeep Singh needs to get out of the bad habit of bowling no-balls as soon as possible. Stating that fast bowlers often ignore the front-foot landing during nets, he urged the young Indian left-arm seamer to work hard on the problem during practice sessions.

Arshdeep, playing in his first international game since November 30, was completely off-color in the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pune on Thursday, January 5. He bowled only two overs, in which he conceded 37 runs. The 23-year-old bowled three consecutive no-balls in his first over and a total of five in the match.

The left-arm seamer’s struggles aided Sri Lanka’s cause in a big way as they posted 206/6 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Sharing his views on Arshdeep’s no-ball woes, Maharoof told ESPNcricinfo:

“I would like to question, I may be wrong or I may be right, how good the practice has been. Most of the times, the fast bowlers don’t give much attention to the front foot at practice. If Arshdeep is having this bad habit, he should get that out of his system as soon as possible.”

Maharoof, however, gave the youngster some leeway considering that he hadn’t played an international game for more than a month. He stated:

“Coming back to international cricket is never easy. The ball was moving. Maybe he was trying too much. It can happen to anybody. Arshdeep needs to play more cricket at the competitive level and he’ll feel better.”

Before the ongoing T20Is against Sri Lanka, Arshdeep was part of the white-ball tour of New Zealand, which was marred by rain.

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“Arshdeep had a fantastic World Cup” - Wasim Jaffer questions the logic of giving bowler a break

Chipping in with his thoughts, former India opener Wasim Jaffer questioned the decision to rest Arshdeep for the Bangladesh tour. Criticizing the trend of giving frequent breaks to players, he said:

“Arshdeep had a fantastic World Cup. He was a find and then you give him a break of more than a month. It’s always hard. I'm not a big fan of players getting a lot of rest.”

Jaffer also urged the Indian management to back the young pacer for the decider against Sri Lanka. He opined that dropping the cricketer after one bad game would dent his confidence. The 44-year-old explained:

“You need to give confidence to Arshdeep. You need to play him, otherwise his confidence will go down. He’s done it before. You can just consider it as a one-off day. He has to get it right, but I would still pick him.”

The third and final T20I of the India-Sri Lanka series will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Saturday, January 7.