'Arshdeep completely lost it...': Brett Lee's blunt take on India pacer's 'embarrassing' no ball show, offers advice
Arshdeep became the first bowler in the history of the international format to bowl five no balls in a match, which cost India 16 runs, the exact margin by which Sri Lanka beat India in the Pune T20I.
A fortnight back, in the Pune T20I match against Sri Lanka, Arshdeep Singh, who was the leader of the Indian attack, had a forgettable night. He became the first bowler in the history of the international format to bowl five no balls in a match, which cost India 16 runs, the exact margin by which Sri Lanka stunned the Hardik Pandya-led side. Speaking on the matter, Australia pace legend Brett Lee had a blunt reaction to it before he offered advice to the youngster.
Speaking in his YouTube channel, Lee explained why a no ball is a “bowler's worst enemy” and how bowling it sees the bowler lose rhythm during a match.
“No ball is a bowler's worst enemy. Nothing costs a bowler more mental agony and embarrassment than a no ball because you not only have to bowl an extra delivery, you give the license to the batter to do anything he/she wants. It's a dagger through the bowler's heart. Rhythm is a funny thing. A bowler can do magic if he/she has it but it makes you look hapless and helpless once that rhythm is lost,” he said.
Further explaining how much a no ball can cost a bowler, he cited Arshdeep's recent performance in that match against Sri Lanka where he had delivered five such deliveries. However, he did admit that with bowlers coming back from an injury lay off it often happens that he/she tends to try a bit harder which results in no balls.
“I saw India's Arshdeep Singh completely lose it in that T20 game against Sri Lanka a few days back. He bowled no ball after no ball after no ball. 5 no balls in that game. It would be a hard pill to swallow for him. He only bowled two overs conceding 37 runs. And he was returning to the side after being sidelined with an injury. He overstepped three times in a row in his second over. Sometimes a bowler can lose rhythm when they are coming back from an injury because they are trying too hard. They lose their shape and momentum. It's tough because you want to achieve that dream of picking wickets and keep the captain happy,” he said.
Having seen Arshdeep rise through the ranks, Lee believes that the India star can comeback strongly as he offered a few words of advice.
“I believe Arshdeep has the goods to back it up. My advice to him would be go back to training, delete it, find out what you did wrong and learn from that mistake.”