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Defeat in the IND vs NZ 2nd ODI for the hosts has increased scrutiny on the decision of the Indian team management, headed by coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill—to bench Arshdeep Singh from both the ODIs of the series so far.

Arshdeep was the most economical bowler in the India vs South Africa ODI series across both teams and took five wickets in three matches.

Then, he produced two stellar shows in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, bagging 7 wickets in only two matches at an average of only 8.57.

Time and again, Arshdeep has shown his effectiveness with the new ball, with which he gets plenty of swing, often even more than Jasprit Bumrah, and in the death overs. However, Gambhir has now shown enough faith in the left-arm pacer and has regularly excluded him from the playing XI in both ODIs and T20Is.

Since Arshdeep has not gotten his full chances in both white-ball formats, it’s clear that the call to bench him has been largely made by Gambhir and not captains Gill and Suryakumar Yadav.

India failed to defend 285 in the Rajkot ODI against New Zealand, where the ball was sticking into the surface a bit for the pacers. Post the loss, much of the criticism has been levied at Gambhir for not playing Arshdeep.

Arshdeep Singh has performed every time you have given him the ball: R Ashwin

A premier voice in Indian cricket now has spoken on this topic: R Ashwin. The former Indian off-spinner raised his opinion that Arshdeep has not gotten his due chances in spite of putting in solid performances.

“He has performed every time you have given him the ball. Give him the place he deserves. Allow him to walk into the eleven with his head held high. He deserves it boss. Now what is the use of him playing the third ODI, why did he not play the first two ODIs. What will that do to his confidence?” Ashwin said in his YouTube video.

He feels this sort of decision-making by Gambhir could dent Arshdeep’s confidence.

“I am talking from a cricketer’s perspective. Who is going to stand in Arshdeep Singh’s shoes and think? This is not about how much he played under Rahul (Dravid) bhai and how much he is playing now. It is about what must be going through his head right now. Somebody who has done so much is having to fight for his place,” the veteran cricketer added.

Ashwin went on to explain that the speedster is likely to be rusty in the third ODI if he gets a chance and labelled Arshdeep’s situation “quite unfair.”

India vs New Zealand: When and where is the 3rd ODI?

The series-deciding IND vs NZ 3rd ODI will be played on Sunday, January 18, at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

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