Punjab Kings are under pressure after five straight defeats, leaving their playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
PBKS must now win their remaining matches against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants to remain in the competition.
This poor run also came amid social media interest in Arshdeep. The left-arm pacer faced criticism after a clip surfaced in which he called out Tilak: “Oi and here”, with some fans accusing him of “casual racism”.A day later, Arshdeep was back in the limelight after replying to a fan who asked PBKS to remove Punjab from his name.
The contestant responded by saying that he cannot take advice from people who still take money from their families to buy chips and cold drinks.Ahead of PBKS’ clash against RCB, Andrew Lebos said the criticism did not affect Arshdeep’s mentality.“I don’t follow a lot of social media myself, so I know there’s been a bit of chatter behind the scenes about different things going on, like vlogs and so on. I don’t follow that,” Lebus told reporters at the pre-match press conference, as reported by Hindustan Times.
“In terms of his behaviour, Arsh is pretty much a flat line. It’s not up or down. He’s doing his best out there. We’ve worked together a little bit and looked at his body, there could be limitations that could be the cause of the ups and downs of some of his performances,” Lebus added.Lebus said Arshdeep’s behavior in the dressing room remained unchanged.“He’s a very loud person in the dressing room. That hasn’t changed.
It is not up and down. It’s very quiet. I’m old. I don’t really participate in a lot of social media. “You can check my name there,” Lebus said.The PBKS employee also said that Arshdeep continues to play a leadership role within the team.“He’s still incredibly confident and positive, leading from the front on and off the field. He’s a very sociable guy, he doesn’t stand apart from anyone else. He’s in the mix, having breakfast with everyone,” Lebus said.“So from that perspective, they’re getting over all the fears that might develop when the pressure is high, which is great. We’ve got quite a young team and we hope they internalize those feelings and remain calm. That calmness at the top and lack of volatility in behavior is very positive.”