IPL 2022: Sanjay Manjrekar Makes Big Statement About Punjab Kings' Left-Arm Pacer
IPL 2022: Arshdeep Singh garnered immense praise from the likes of former cricket Sanjay Manjrekar, who even compared him to Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The 12-run defeat at the hands of Punjab Kings (PBKS) was Mumbai Indians' (MI) fifth loss on the trot in this season's Indian Premier League (IPL). Their winless streak continued as Punjab came out on top in crunch situations to claim crucial points against the Rohit Sharma-led team. Apart from the fifties scored by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal, Odean Smith and Arshdeep Singh also contributed immensely in the victory. While Smith took four wickets and broke the backbone of the MI run-chase, Arshdeep's wicketless tally was quite impressive keeping in mind the left-arm bowler only gave away 29 runs in his spell of four overs.
Arshdeep's impact with the ball, according to former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, went rather unnoticed. However, while talking to ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar didn't fail to praise the left-arm pacer for his incredible overs at the start as well as the end of the innings which proved too much to handle even for a batter like Suryakumar Yadav.
While being asked if Arshdeep is close towards an Indian team call-up, Manjrekar was quick to say yes.
In a stern assessment of SRH and Team India bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manjrekar said that India should look at options going forward and that Arshdeep "is a much better bowler to have in your T20 side" than Kumar. Manjrekar felt that Arshdeep could be a better choice currently as Bhuvneshwar is not in his prime.
"India keeps going back to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a wonderful bowler but today if you were to compare Bhuneshwar and Arshdeep, the latter is a much better bowler to have in your T20 side. Certainly, in the top five, certainly a place in the squad. He must be wondering 'what more do I have to do?' because today was another night where you are looking at people like Suryakumar Yadav who must be saying 'I can't hit this guy, might as well take off a single'. That is something you do against the (Jasprit) Bumrahs and the (Lasith) Malingas of the past," he said.
PBKS will play against SunRiders Hyderabad (SRH) at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on April 17.
Punjab Kings
Mumbai Indians
Bhuvneshwar Kumar