Bishnoi gave away 60 runs in his 4 overs, including a match changing 29 runs in 17th over.
Ravi Bishnoi has come in for some criticism for his poor bowling as India lost the second T20I to England in Manchester on July 4, 2026. India batted first after Shreyas Iyer won the toss. Ishan Kishan top-scored with 49, while Abhishek Sharma made 43 and captain Shreyas Iyer made 37 runs as India posted 190/7 in 20 overs.
In response, Jacob Bethell’s 76* led the chase for England, despite losing both openers for a duck in the first over. Harry Brook and Tom Banton supported with 39 runs each as England won the game in the 19th over to go 1-0 up in the series with 3 matches to go.
During the chase, India was still very much in the game, with England needing 49 runs in 24 balls, when Iyer tossed the ball to Bishnoi for the 16th over. However, Bishnoi was taken apart by Jacob Bethell as he was hit for 3 sixes and one four, giving away 29 runs in the over. Bishnoi also bowled a couple of back-foot no-balls, off which he was hit for maximums.
Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer said Bishnoi can be picked easily; he bowls quickly, and his leg-spinner doesn’t turn a great deal.
“I mean, I feel that once batters get used to Ravi Bishnoi, it becomes easier to face him. He bowls at almost 100 km/h, and at that pace, his leg-spin doesn’t turn a great deal. Most of the time, it’s either a topspinner or he’s trying something different, but eventually there’s a certain pace to his bowling. He also bowls the googly, but it seems that batters have started to figure out how to play him,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
“We saw this in the IPL as well. Rajasthan Royals didn’t play him much. They gave him opportunities in the initial matches, and he did reasonably well, but after that, they left him out and played Yash Raj Punja instead. So, I think Ravi Bishnoi needs to make a few changes to his game if he wants to remain successful. Otherwise, if he continues to bowl at the same pace and batters get accustomed to him, it becomes quite easy for them to face him,” he added.
Jaffer also gave the Indian team other leg-spin options to choose from domestic cricket.
“Looking at the IPL, India has plenty of bowling options. Kuldeep Yadav isn’t part of this team. We also saw Shivang Kumar perform well for Sunrisers, so there are alternatives available. It’s not as if India doesn’t have options.
I think the selectors have picked Ravi Bishnoi with the next World Cup in mind. You back young players and give them opportunities to see whether they can succeed at ICC events and whether you can build your team around them. Ultimately, the selectors will take that call. Ravi Bishnoi is a good bowler, but I feel he needs to add a bit more variety to his bowling,” he concluded.
India and England will clash in the third T20I of the five-match series on July 7 in Nottingham.