Arshdeep Singh has taken five wickets in two ODIs against Afghanistan.
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary praised star pacer Arshdeep Singh for getting back on track after a controversial Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
During the season, the left-arm bowler was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, thanks to his extensive social media presence and YouTube channel.
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) asked Arshdeep Singh to limit his social media activity midway through the season. He ended up suffering his poorest IPL season in previous years, taking 14 wickets at an average of 38.64 and an economy rate of 10.21.
However, Arshdeep has found his rhythm with five wickets in two ODIs against Afghanistan in the ongoing series.
"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 the India jersey from IPL, he's a different player. We have seen that in T20Is, he has a better number of strikes 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 performance is there. It is good to see him leading the attack and picking wickets for his country," he added.
Arshdeep Singh picked 3-45 off his nine overs, including the key wicket of opener Ibrahim Zadran in the second ODI in Lucknow.
On Saturday, June 20, Team India will play the third and final ODI at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium to wrap up the series.