“Arshdeep much better bowler than Bhuvneshwar to have in the T20 side” - Sanjay Manjrekar pays huge compliment to PBKS pacer

Sanjay Manjrekar feels Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh is a better option than veteran bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the Indian T20 side. The former Indian batter added that Arshdeep, 23, has been unlucky not to have represented his nation yet.

Arshdeep played a key role in Punjab’s 12-run win over the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Pune in the IPL 2022 match on Wednesday. Although he did not pick up any wickets, he conceded only 29 runs in his four overs. Also, with the match in the balance, he bowled a crucial 18th over and conceded only five despite a set Suryakumar Yadav being on strike.

Praising Arshdeep, Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo that the time has come for India to give him a chance ahead of Bhuvneshwar in the Indian T20 set-up. He opined:

“India keeps going back to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has been a wonderful bowler. But today, if you compare, Arshdeep is a much better bowler than Bhuvneshwar to have in the T20 side. He is certainly in the top 5 (among Indian bowlers). He must be wondering what else he needs to do (to get into the Indian side).”

The former batter added that while Odean Smith ended up with four wickets, Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep were the key contributors on the bowling front in PBKS’ win. Manjrekar stated:

“Nobody is going to talk about Arshdeep Singh. Everyone’s talking about Odean Smith’s four wickets. But the guys who made the big difference were Rabada with two huge wickets (Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav) and Arshdeep Singh, a five-run over with a set batter around him. Surya during that over took a single because he couldn’t get him away. That’s the ultimate hats off to the bowler.”

Arshdeep’s five-run over left Mumbai with 28 to get off the last two overs. The five-time champions managed only 15 and succumbed to their fifth consecutive defeat in IPL 2022.

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“Impressive captaincy by Mayank Agarwal” - Sanjay Manjrekar evaluates PBKS skipper’s tactics against MI

Analyzing Mayank Agarwal’s captaincy, Manjrekar praised him for not losing faith in Rahul Chahar despite the leg-spinner being carted for 29 runs in his first over. Sharing his views on the PBKS skipper, the 56-year-old said:

“Impressive captaincy by Mayank. After Rahul Chahar went for so many, he didn’t get disillusioned. He bowled Rahul Chahar for a final over even though there was the danger of Pollard and Surya. Then he kept the potentially most vulnerable bowler for the 20th over (Smith).”

Chahar came back brilliantly after being hammered for 29 runs in his first over and ended with decent figures of 0/44 from four overs.