For someone who was clubbed by RCB’s young talent Sarfaraz (28 runs in his final over) in Bengaluru the other night, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s key bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was cool as a cucumber and in the mood to forget that miserable over as one of those things which happen to the best in the business.
“There is no point in thinking about it. I don’t think that over will haunt me right through in this IPL. It is pretty simple — sometimes you get wickets off bad balls and sometimes mistimed hits off a good ball sail over the boundary. But credit should be given to Sarfaraz for that brilliant batting,” the 26-year-old said in an interview ahead of the SRH’s second game against Kolkata Knight Riders here on Saturday.
“You have to keep evolving and improving with each game. The biggest challenge for any cricketer, especially in a format like the IPL, is to be consistent,” the lanky swing bowler remarked.
“In this format, you cannot have a set plan to target only one or two batsmen from any team. For instance, if the focus was on A.B. de Villiers and Virat Kohli in the first game, it was Sarfaraz who played that cameo. You have to be ready for any kind of challenges on any type of wicket,” said the Meerut-born bowler.
More expectations
In the absence of injured fast bowler Ashish Nehra for the next couple of games, Bhuvneshwar admitted that the expectations will be more and he has to handle the pressure and the load differently. “It is a challenge any cricketer would like to take up and prove a point or two. The next game is a big one. You need to be mentally tough. I am looking forward to this match.”
Reflecting on the nature of the IPL pitches, the swing bowler said people loved to see T20 games with scores of 160-plus and not low-scoring ones. “Even as a bowler I love to be in these situations, for you have to be exceptionally good to take wickets.”
“The IPL is a huge platform for young talent to get exposed to various facets of the game. For instance, bowlers have to adapt to bowling to different kinds of batsmen — the classical and the real power-hitters. I enjoy this blend,” said the affable bowler.
He was all praise for his teammate, Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman. “He is an amazing bowler who showed his class with his slower ones in the first game on a batting track,” Bhuvneshwar commented.
“It’s a great feeling to play all seven games at home for you know what kind of conditions the matches will played in. And less of travelling too” he remarked.
“The mood in the team is terrific. The bonding of players makes SRH a very special team thanks to the experience and influence of the head coach Tom Moody and mentor V.V.S. Laxman,” Bhuvneshwar said.
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