Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been in a sublime form, of late. The swing bowler has credited his hard work for the turnaround in his performance after the T20 World Cup instead of a change in his action.
Kumar was awarded the ‘Player of the Series’ in the five-match T20I series against South Africa in June as he picked up six wickets in 4 matches at an average of 14 and an economy of 6. He continued his good form in the three-match T20I series against England as he used the swinging conditions to full advantage.
The 32-year-old had a good outing in the first T20I against West Indies and will look to continue his good form in the second match today and help India win another T20I series.
Bhuvneshwar, who will be the leader of the attack in the 20-20 world cup later this year in Australia, when asked if he had made any changes in his bowling action in the last few months, credited his hard work for his success.
“Honestly, I didn’t make any change to my bowling (action). I just tried to bowl more, which brought my body back into rhythm. It brought back the confidence in me. Fitness is something if you improve, it helps you bowl better. But honestly I didn’t make any change in my bowling or worked on any particular aspect. Overall, I just bowled more whenever I got a chance,” said Kumar.
“Of course when you are with the team, you practice, but I also kept working hard on my bowling at home and made an effort to keep myself in rhythm,” added Bhuvi in a video posted by the Indian cricket Board.
The seamer was highly impressed by left-arm bowler Arshdeep Singh. The youngster had been knocking on the doors of the Indian selectors for a long time with his consistent performances in the Indian T20 League. He played a pivotal role in India winning the opening T20I against the West Indies at Trinidad on July 29 by 68 runs, taking two wickets for 24 runs.
“The best part is when he (Arshdeep) bowls, he knows what exactly he wants, what field he has to set, how to bowl to a particular batter. It’s very rare that a new young bowler thinks like that. I suppose he had that maturity before he came into the India side,” said the 32-year-old.
Bhuvi further highlighted the drastic change in white-ball cricket since he made his debut.
“When I started out with white-ball cricket, especially one-day cricket… that time the par score of 300-plus runs was not there. But, now, 300 runs is a par score. That is the biggest change I’ve witnessed. In T20 also if you make 180-190, teams know it is quite chaseable. These are the noticeable changes.”
“As a bowler, I am now more aware of what changes or variations I need against a particular batter, so those are the things that have improved. As the game goes further, more changes, more innovations will happen. The game has evolved big time,” he added.
