Gautam Gambhir called ‘dumb’ after Arshdeep Singh's stunning return in IND vs NZ 3rd ODI; ‘just imagine the stupidity’

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has always been at the heart of criticisms, mostly for his selection calls. From former cricketers Irfan Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin to fans, the omission of Arshdeep Singh in the first two ODIs against New Zealand baffled many, with fingers pointed at Gambhir.

On Sunday, Gambhir was once again targeted, after Arshdeep struck in his first over on return at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, in the third and final ODI against the Kiwis. Arguably the best left-arm pacers in the country at the moment, Arshdeep has been in and out of the side in ODIs.

Owner of 100-plus wickets for India in T20Is, Arshdeep has played just 14 ODIs before today, as compared to his 72 T20I appearances for the Men in Blue. With no Jasprit Bumrah in the side, Karnataka quick Prasidh Krishna was preferred over Arshdeep in the first two ODIs in Vadodara and Rajkot.

It didn't take much time for Arshdeep to make an impact on Sunday. The left-arm quick pitched a good length delivery with a hint of outswing. Henry Nicholls, caught on two minds, played it late and in the process chopped on his stumps after an inside edge.

Soon after his wicket, fans took to social media, reminding why he needed Arshdeep in the first two games. “Just Imagine the stupidity of Gautham Gambhir to Bench India's Best White Ball Pacer Arshdeep Singh in the 1st 2 Games. He always gets them wickets upfront,” one user wrote.

“How dumb Gautam Gambhir is, how someone can select Prasidh Krishna ahead of Arshdeep Singh. Arshdeep Singh can perform 8/10 matches but when it comes to run machine he will perform 10/10 for opposition,” another wrote. “Back in the XI. First-over wicket,” said LSG on X.

Arshdeep's omission in the first two ODIs came despite performing against South Africa last year. In three ODIs against the Proteas, which India won 3-0, Arshdeep was the most economical bowler for India despite taking less wickets than Kuldeep Yadav (9 wickets) and Krishna (7). The Punjab-lad had picked up five with an economy of 5.50.

Following the ODIs against South Africa, Arshdeep took seven wickets in two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches for Punjab, including a five-wicket haul.

India start on a strong note in 3rd ODI

After Arshdeep's wicket in the first over, Harshit Rana struck on his first ball with Devon Conway, edging to Rohit Sharma at the first slip. With two early wickets down, New Zealand revived with a 53-run stand between Daryl Mitchell and Will Young. The partnership was finally broken by Rana, thanks to a brilliant diving catch by Ravindra Jadeja.

At the time of writing, Mitchell and Glenn Phillips have already put on close to 40 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket. Earlier, New Zealand named an unchanged XI while Arshdeep replaced Krishna for India.

India vs New Zealand 3rd ODI playing XIs

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Kristian Clarke, Jayden Lennox

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj