Focus on bowling, stop snapchatting: Arshdeep Singh gives away 500 runs in IPL 2026

Punjab Kings seamer Arshdeep Singh’s season in the Indian Premier League has been full of controversies. From inconsistent performances on the field to antics off the field, Arshdeep found himself in the limelight during Punjab’s dramatic dip in form in the second half of the season.

Things took a turn for the worse in Punjab’s last match against Lucknow Super Giants where Arshdeep scattered the ball and ended up conceding 52 runs in just three overs. While bowlers conceding more than 50 runs in a T20 game is not unheard of, it was a big surprise on the tricky surface of the Ekana Stadium.

Arshdeep struggled in every spell he bowled on Saturday. He first conceded 16 runs in the opener against Josh Inglis, who immediately put the bowler under pressure with an aggressive pull game.

The Australian batsman later targeted him once more in the 12th over of the innings, smashing 19 runs and completely dismissing Arshdeep from his lengths.

Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer still backed his premiership fast bowler at the death and handed him the final over of the innings in the hope that Arshdeep would be able to control uncapped batsmen Abdul Samad and Arjun Tendulkar. Instead, he ran for another 17 runs, ending a miserable outing for the Indian international.

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Fans were quick to take out their frustration on the left-armer, calling him out after a string of stunning performances in the IPL this season.

What perhaps exacerbated the backlash against Arshdeep was his behavior off the field, which did not sit well with a section of fans online.

The fast bowler’s comments regarding Tilak Varma earlier in the season and his playful interactions with teammate Priyansh Arya have already drawn criticism on social media. As performance drops alongside these incidents, scrutiny around the pacemaker has only intensified.

“Harshit Rana has always been a better T20I bowler than wide specialist Arshdeep Singh,” wrote one user on X after the final against LSG.

The 52 runs Arshdeep conceded in this game also crossed the 500-run mark this season. Arshdeep now has 14 matches to his name and has conceded 541 runs in IPL 2026. This is the third consecutive season in which Arshdeep has conceded more than 500 runs, making him the first bowler in IPL history to concede more than 500 runs in three consecutive seasons.

While some criticized his on-field performances, others questioned Arshdeep’s professionalism and focus during a difficult phase of the season as Punjab Kings somehow managed to stay alive in the play-off race despite his erratic bowling displays. The fast bowler was perhaps the only major blemish in Punjab’s performance against LSG on Saturday and will be hoping to bounce back in a big way if the franchise manages to qualify for the play-offs this season.

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Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

May 24, 2026 0:08 AM IST

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