Arshdeep Singh (BCCI/IPL Photo)
Dharamshala: Arshdeep Singh did not look like his usual self during training here on Saturday afternoon. On the eve of a near-decisive match against table toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he eschewed the usual banter with his teammates for an intense chat with Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting.
For a man who has built his reputation on lighting up the dressing room and a warrior’s temperament on the field in the toughest of situations, India’s best left-arm spinner has been subdued in the Indian Premier League. Arshdeep reached the peak of success with back-to-back World Cup campaigns in the first week of March. Within two months, he finds himself at rock bottom in the foothills of the exhausting Dhauladhar mountain range here.
Arshdeep’s unusually low season is a major reason why Punjab Kings have inexplicably slipped from the peak they reached midway through the tournament.
Be it the controversies that erupted over his social media presence or his bowling on the flat pitches, one has been going through what must be sick of Arshdeep. Well, it is understood that the Punjab Kings administration also searched for answers. It turned out that he was not in his best physical condition during the tournament.
“We’ve been working together a bit and looking at his body if there are any limitations in his body that might be causing the ups and downs of some of his performances. We think we’ve got something going there. He’s been feeling a lot better in the last couple of weeks, physically,” Punjab Kings head of sports science Andrew Lebus answered a query from TOI here. Leipus’ revelation type answers why Arshdeep’s deliveries lack a zip code.
He struggled to pin New Yorkers or guards in tight situations like he has done over the past two years. Even as he quietly wrestled with his physical issues, off-field controversies seemed to weigh on him. Lebus did not ignore the chatter but also insisted that Arshdeep is keeping himself sharp in the dressing room. “I know there’s been a little bit of chatter behind the scenes about different things going on — vlogging and what not.
In terms of his behavior and attitude, Arch is pretty much a straight line. It’s not up or down. He gives his best there. He’s a very loud person in the locker room. This has not changed. “He’s very quiet,” Lebus said.
“One of the best things the ICC has ever done is take away the phones. When you’re in that team environment, it’s not an issue. It’s outside of that when it becomes an issue. I’ve heard rumours. I think that’s probably something that needs to be addressed,” he added. If suggestions about distracting him off the field are at all true, Arshdeep will have to look no further than the opposition dugout on Sunday afternoon to isolate himself. There are two 37-year-old players, Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have won laurels over the course of a career that has spanned well into the second decade, and are still reinventing their game and evolving at the sheer pace of modern cricket. Lebus emphasized that Captain Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep showed exemplary calm as leaders of this unit during this difficult phase. They have to turn things around on the field on Sunday.