These 14-ball, and 12-ball overs, I don’t know yaar

Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin noted that Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer Arshdeep Singh has to work on his bowling to avoid the infamous long overs riddled with a plethora of wides. The left-arm seamer has struggled for rhythm in recent times, and bowled six wides in the recent win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Mullanpur, on Saturday, April 11.

Arshdeep Singh had bowled as many as eight wides in PBKS’ season opener against the Gujarat Titans (GT). He followed it up by bowling three wides in the away win over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Even before the IPL 2026 season, the pacer had built a notorious reputation for bowling wides regularly, often leading to the over being stretched to well over ten deliveries.

Arshdeep Singh’s lack of rhythm is reflected in his numbers in the ongoing campaign so far. He did not pick up a single wicket in the first three matches, and ended with expensive figures of 2-50 against SRH. Overall, he averages 74.50 and holds an economy rate of 10.74 in the early stages of PBKS’ season.

R Ashwin remarked that Arshdeep Singh has to address these concerns as soon as possible.

“These 14-ball, and 12-ball overs by Arshdeep, I don’t know yaar. He did this with the Indian team as well. He was bowling wide to Abhishek, and then bowled straight in the hitting zone after that. So there is something there that needs to be addressed,” R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Arshdeep Singh dismissed Ishan Kishan and Salil Arora during his spell for PBKS against SRH, but was one of the most expensive bowlers on show. He conceded four sixes and three fours over the course of his display with the ball.

“Running all over the place at this point” – R Ashwin envisions a tough IPL 2026 season for SRH after back-to-back losses against LSG and PBKS

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had made a resounding start against PBKS, amassing 105 runs in the powerplay phase through Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. However, they lost their way in the contest, and posted 219 on the board eventually.

In the second half of the contest, SRH’s bowling attack had no reply to the hosts’ onslaught. Barring Shivang Kumar’s three-fer, none of the bowlers could make any impact as Shreyas Iyer led from the front to hunt down yet another steep target with nine deliveries to spare.

“SRH are running all over the place at this point. They have neither any options nor any strength in their bowling. Shivang Kumar is doing as much as they can. The kind of batting they have, they underachieved with 220. Klaasen is not able to play those big hits these days,” R Ashwin said.

“They have to target 240, their bowling attack does not have any strength. They won by playing well against KKR, but I don’t know. A lot of these teams are in a similar place. In Delhi’s case, if KL Rahul does not play the whole innings, they will also struggle. I think there is going to be a real middle-table muddle. SRH are a team that I think will fizzle out quite quickly,” he added.

After their loss to PBKS, SRH are next scheduled to face the unbeaten Rajasthan Royals (RR) at home on Monday, April 13.