India pacer Arshdeep Singh experienced social media mockery following his disastrous performance in the first T20I against New Zealand in Ranchi on Friday.

Known for producing excellent yorkers in the death overs and giving batters ample opportunities by delivering no-balls by overstepping the bowling mark, the left-arm speedster has proved to be like a double-edged sword for India.

Yet again, his problem of overstepping, resulting in no-balls and free-hits, came to haunt Arshdeep Singh against the Kiwi batters as he ended away giving 27 runs in the final over of their innings.

Notably, until then, Arshdeep Singh had a good day at the office, bowling his first three overs for just 24 runs and also picking up a wicket in the process.

However, the southpaw began the 20th over on the worst possible note, bowling a no-ball that went for a six. The next delivery which was a free-hit was smashed for a maximum by Daryl Mitchell who followed it up with another six on the third ball of the over.

Subsequently, Daryl Mitchell clobbered Arshdeep Singh for a boundary before taking a couple of twos before the India fast bowler's misery came to an end after the New Zealand innings.

His poor show, however, led to a flood of hilarious memes on Twitter, with Indian cricket team's supporters, taking a dig at him for his inability to control his habit of bowling no-balls.

https://twitter.com/Adityakrsaha/status/1618989404412071936

 

But this isn't the first time Arshdeep Singh has faced severe criticism for his actions on the field.

Earlier, this month, Arsdeep Singh found himself among the top trends on Twitter following his horrible display in the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pune.

During his disappointing outing, Arshdeep Singh went on to deliver 5 no-balls, making him the first Indian to achieve this bizarre feat. Previously, the record was held by Ishant Sharma, who had bowled three no-balls in a single T20I. He also became the first Indian bowler to produce three no-balls on the trot in a T2OI against the Dasun Shanaka-led team.

Arshdeep Singh's poor showing in that contest earned him the ire of skipper Hardik Pandya who labeled the no-balls that he bowled with alarming regularity in the match a “crime”.

“You can have a good day, you can have a bad day, but you shouldn’t be moving away from the basics. For Arshdeep, in this situation, it is very difficult. In past as well he’s bowled no-balls,” Hardik Pandya said at the time.

“It is not about blaming him or being too hard on him, but we know no-balls in any format is a crime,” he added.

“In bowling and batting, the powerplay hurt us. We made some basic errors, which we shouldn’t be making at this level. Everyone knows what it is, the learning for us is we should be focussing on what we can control,” Hardik Pandya elaborated.

Joining Hardik Pandya in slamming Arshdeep Singh were the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, 2011 World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir, and the former India opener Aakash Chopra.

“As a professional, you can’t be doing this. We often hear that today’s players say, things aren’t in our control. Not bowling no ball is in your control. What happens after you deliver the ball, what the batsman does, is another thing. Not bowling a no ball is definitely in your control,” Sunil Gavaskar said on air while commentating about the match on Star Sports.

“It was a slight anomaly in the last match, we don't bowl so many no-balls. It is true that Arshdeep has bowled the most no-balls in the last 12 months. So it's a recurring problem, a problem that has come before him repeatedly and troubled him slightly, but I would still stand by him to rectify it,” Aakash Chopra said.

“It happens at times, you come out of the cold and then you are not well, and then suddenly you play and your foot does not fall at the right place, the confidence is gone and things go bad. So I would want an improvement there and it will happen, I am not worried,” Aakash Chopra concluded.

Unlike Sunil Gavaskar, Gautam Gambhir was much more scathing in his remarks made against the left-arm speedster.

“Imagine seven balls, it’s like bowling more than 21 overs. Everyone bowls bad balls or plays bad shots but it’s about the rhythm. If you are coming after an injury, you should not be playing an international game,” Gautam Gambhir said.

“You should be going to domestic cricket and getting your rhythm back because no-balls are not acceptable. Whoever is injured and there is a long layoff, he has to go back to domestic cricket, bowl 15-20 overs, come back and then play an international game, and that was squarely seen when Arshdeep Singh was struggling with his rhythm,” he stated.