'That is absolutely unacceptable': Gautam Gambhir highlights concern with Indian player

Former Team India opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has criticized Arshdeep Singh for his recent bowling performances as the 23-year-old continues to struggle to limit his no-balls. While Arshdeep did not bowl any no-balls in second India vs New Zealand T20I, he did bowl one costly no-ball in the last over of the first match that was smacked for six by Daryl Mitchell. The Blackcaps ended up scoring 27 runs in this over, which helped them to post a winning total of 176 runs for the loss of six wickets.

'He's not Umran Malik or Mohammed Siraj': Gambhir

While speaking to Star Sports about Arshdeep Singh's disappointing bowling performance in first India vs New Zealand T20I, Gautam Gambhir said, "I think these numbers are fine. It can go south and it can go north. But the most important thing is you can’t afford to bowl those no-balls. That is absolutely unacceptable, especially at this level, and it can come back to hurt you and the team big time."

"And that is exactly what happened in the previous game," added Gambhir. "Just keep the basics right. See, World Cup conditions are completely different from what you normally get back home. In Australia, it was swinging and it was still bouncing, decent carry as well with the new ball. But when you play at the sub-continent, these are flat wickets."

The 41-year-old ended his remarks by explaining why Arshdeep desperately needs to control his no-balls and add some more variations to his bowling as he does not have the pace of someone like Umran Malik or Mohammed Siraj to trouble the batsmen.

"You gonna have something different up your sleeves whether it's a slower one or a slower bouncer. Some kind of variation. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the speed to actually rattle the batsmen. So he's got to develop some variation. He is not Umran Malik, he's not Mohammed Siraj. So one thing he needs to do is probably try and keep it very simple and sort his no balls out which is equally important," explained the 41-year-old.

Arshdeep Singh will now hope to deliver a strong performance in the third and final India vs New Zealand T20I on February 1. With the Blackcaps winning the first T20I by 21 runs and the Men in Blue winning the second match by six wickets, the series is currently tied 1-1.