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“He should not be playing matches”: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan criticizes Ravi Bishnoi amid West Indies T20Is

Former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has sharply criticized team-mate Ravi Bishnoi for continuing to play international matches while still refining his bowling run-up, calling it an inappropriate approach for addressing technical flaws. Sivaramakrishnan’s remarks follow Bishnoi’s costly spell in the Asian Games final against Pakistan, where he conceded 44 runs in just three overs as India’s target of 211 was chased down.

Despite that performance, Bishnoi remained in India’s squad for the five-match T20I series against the West Indies, though he was overlooked in favor of Kuldeep Yadav for the opener. Bishnoi’s international form has declined since peaking in 2023, when he topped the ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings with an economy rate of 7.20 and an average of 17.61.

By 2026, his average had ballooned to 31.10, while his economy rate rose to 8.60, partly due to a heavy reliance on his googly—a delivery that has become less effective as opponents adapt. His struggles extended to the IPL, where his economy rate climbed from 6.39 in 2021 to 10.84 in 2025, despite recent improvement to 9.88.

Sivaramakrishnan’s criticism stems from Bishnoi’s earlier issues, including three back-foot no-balls during a T20I against England in 2024, which led to a technical overhaul with former India spinner Sunil Joshi at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

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