Former England cricketer Mark Butcher feels Punjab Kings pace bowler Arshdeep Singh had done himself a world of good with his five-wicket haul against Rajasthan Royals despite his side losing by two runs on September 21 in Dubai.
Arshdeep grabbed the wickets of opener Evin Lewis, Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Chetan Sakariya, and Kartik Tyagi to restrict RR to 185, but Punjab Kings failed to upend the target and lost by two runs.
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“You could just point to that and say he is left-handed. The left-handers are like gold dust. But that’s a little unfair for someone who comes in with not much fanfare and he has acquainted himself quite beautifully. He might be one of those guys in the future auctions who gets picked up by a more successful franchise looking for their dose of left-arm magic. So, he’s done himself no end of favours,” Butcher said.
On the upcoming match between Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Butcher, who has played 71 Tests for England and scored more than 4,000 runs, said that the Punjab franchise might have turned a corner in this edition of the IPL.
“Punjab Kings have become the masters of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Sunrisers have struggled in all departments. It’s not the first time it has happened to them (Losing from a winning position).
“But people are thinking they’ve turned a corner. KL Rahul is making runs, they’ve made some excellent all-round signing from the CPL. It’s just a little bit lightweight than what rest of the teams are calling upon,” Butcher told cricket.com.
The 49-year-old former cricketer added that while SRH wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha might be excellent behind the wickets, he is not fitting into the role of a top-order batsman.
“As an IPL franchise, if the best you can do is Wriddhiman Saha, who is a terrific wicketkeeper, decent batter� but if that’s the best you can do at the top of the order, then you are setting yourself up for big trouble,” averred Butcher.
