Punjab Kings finally snapped a six-match losing streak in Lucknow, yet their left-arm spearhead Arshdeep Singh still endured another bruising evening: 52 runs leaked from three overs, an economy rate touching 17.33, and no chance to bowl the last over.
Those numbers prompted candid words from Ambati Rayudu, speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut. “I just think his lengths [are the problem]. He’s not someone who should be bowling a lot of short deliveries,” Rayudu said. “Even in the death, he should be bowling yorkers. And even with the new ball, whenever he has bowled full, except for the first ball which was driven through the covers, I don’t think his fuller balls went for so many runs as much as the short-of-length deliveries or the short ball.”
Rayudu felt the issue is partly physical. “He should be mindful of that because his short ball, he doesn’t have a great bouncer at the moment, maybe because of his body being tired or he doesn’t have the same juice as what he did a few months back. But he definitely has to compensate. If he has to over-compensate, he needs to be full.”
Mark Boucher, Punjab’s head coach, offered a similar diagnosis but from a workload angle. “I think it’s just being tired [after the T20 World Cup] and this month being the IPL, and he had to play in this. That’s the reason why he’s like that,” he explained. “I don’t think it’s got anything to do with his skill or his talent. At some stage, it [the fatigue] has to catch up with the players. It’s just, it’s natural.”
Key facts first
• Arshdeep has 14 wickets from 14 matches this IPL, conceding over 500 runs at an economy rate of 10.20.
• Only one other bowler, Chennai’s Anshul Kamboj, has leaked as many runs—though Kamboj has 21 wickets.
• At the T20 World Cup earlier this year Arshdeep was India’s second seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah, taking nine wickets in eight games at 8.46 per over as India lifted the trophy.
Those contrasting numbers frame the discussion. India’s schedule—World Cup straight into a two-month IPL—gave the 25-year-old no breathing space. The left-armer relies on rhythm for the new-ball swing and the yorker at the death. When the body is heavy, the lengths become inconsistent, and the bouncer, never his chief weapon, turns gentle. Saturday in Lucknow showed that: KL Rahul cashed in on anything back-of-a-length; Nicholas Pooran feasted on pace-on short balls.
Boucher says the franchise cannot afford to rest him. “The one thing about him [is that] he knows that he’s going to be playing. It’s not like he’s an international [overseas player] where you’ve got quite a few different options and you can rest players here and there. He has to play. And I think that’s where maybe he needs to back his skill set as well. I think that he’s trying too hard with the new ball to take the ball both ways.”
The coach’s final point hints at the mental side: fatigue drives bowlers to search for magic balls rather than trust their stock options. Swinging it both ways inside three overs is a luxury, not a necessity. Delivering a hard length followed by a stump-targeting yorker—simple plans—brought Arshdeep success at the World Cup.
What next?
Punjab’s play-off hopes now hang on other results. Should they sneak another fixture, Arshdeep will lead the attack again. The player remains highly rated; left-arm swing at decent pace is still a scarce commodity. But the fortnight ahead—rest, gym, maybe a short red-ball stint—could be as important as any net session.
Cricket history is littered with bowlers who hit a mid-season wall. Usually it is a blip, not a trend. For now, the numbers say Arshdeep is conceding runs at nearly 10 an over, double what his team expects. The voices around him urge patience, fresher legs and fuller lengths.
Rayudu summed it up neatly: “He needs to be full.” If the body obliges, the skills should follow.
