‘As soon as he switches to India jersey from IPL, he’s a different player’ – Manoj Tiwary’s huge praise for Arshdeep Singh after heroics in 2nd ODI

Arshdeep Singh (Source: BCCI)

Former Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary lauded Arshdeep Singh after the left-arm pacer bagged a three-for in the second ODI against Afghanistan at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, June 17.

Arshdeep wasn’t at his best during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. In 14 matches, he picked up as many wickets at an average of 38.64 and conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.21. While these numbers aren’t too impressive, the left-arm spinner has returned to his best after putting on the India jersey, picking up five wickets in the first two ODIs against Afghanistan.

Tiwary said that IPL is “just entertainment cricket” and that the setup is designed so batters will dominate bowlers. He also pointed out that Arshdeep looks to have regained his rhythm, something that he lacked during the IPL. The Punjab pacer also started vlogging actively, posting videos on social media and sometimes landing in controversy. However, he hasn’t been doing that during the ongoing series, and Tiwary feels that having no distractions is helping the 27-year-old.

“IPL is just entertainment cricket, to be honest with you. The format is T20, but it is just full-on entertainment, where things are set up for batters and bowlers only get hit. So you cannot compare and judge performances from there. As soon as he switches to India jersey from IPL, he’s a different player. We have seen that in T20Is, he has a better numbers of striking in the first over than Jasprit Bumrah,” Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.

“His rhythm has come back now. He has stopped doing some things that he was doing in the IPL. He used to do all of that in the IPL, he has stopped now, we don’t see much of him on social media. When you move away from distractions and focus on things that matter, then the consistency in performances is there. It is good to see him leading the attack and pick wickets for his country,” he added.

Arshdeep finished with figures of 3/45 in nine overs on Wednesday. Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav took three and two wickets, respectively, as Afghanistan were bowled out for 232 in 44.3 overs. They lost by 170 runs, chasing down an improbable 403-run target.

Earlier in the day, Shubman Gill (154) and Ishan Kishan (125) slammed blistering centuries to help India post a massive total after being asked to bat first. On the back of this convincing win, the hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

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