His pastime continues to be video games, the most recent. He can keep to himself for hours, shutting himself from the world; he also squeezes in some time to study – self-evaluation and assessment of the opponents. For Bhuvneshwar Kumar, an anti-thesis of a fast bowler, cricket is a process that involves constant monitoring and improvement.
Speed is not his forte. Swing certainly is. And some wily change of pace makes this introvert person a bowler to guard against. A stoic countenance hides his anxiety when clubbed for a boundary off a decent ball. But within he burns as others. His calm exterior creates a false aura of his inner turmoil and he translates it into a performance at the crease. Often with the ball but the bat can be a tool too at times.
He has played all the matches (16) for Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. Supreme fitness is very apparent. But it was not so always. “I went to Australia (2014-15) and got injured immediately. There was that phase where I had to recover and make a comeback from there. After an injury, albeit unknowingly, some things change when you’re bowling in the nets. That happened with me but I didn’t realise it,” said the 26-year-old seamer from Uttar Pradesh.
Bhuvneshwar was candid when he admitted, “In the South Africa series, my pace increased but swing reduced. There were a few reasons for that. Conditions or a fault in technique. Then I worked on my technique, spoke to my coaches (Sanjay Rastogi) in Meerut, and kept practising. The conditions didn’t suit swing. I am a swing bowler but I would also need the conditions, the wickets, to support my skill. In that age (of Ashish Nehra), spinners had support from good wickets. After that I realised that even I was at fault because I was moving away from the basics.”
Rastogi endorsed his pupil’s words. “He had an ankle injury in Australia and took time to regain his rhythm. He had lost a bit of swing because he was working to bowl quicker. His ball-releasing point was not perfect and we worked by watching his old videos. As always he bowled to a single stump and looked the original Bhuvi before he went for the IPL matches.”
With 23 wickets against his name, Bhuvneshwar has emerged the best bowler in the league.
Ahead of the final, in a tournament dominated by the batsmen, he has stood out with his craft – different and very effective. The mighty Royal Challengers Bangalore batsmen need to watch out for the resurgent Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
