Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played a vital role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s success in the IPL last season, is determined to fulfil his bowling responsibilities well this season.
“This year is going to be a challenge because we [did] so well last year. So, there [are] going to be expectations from us. If we don’t deliver, it does not mean we are not good at it or that was a fluke. It’s going to be an added responsibility this year to replicate the same thing,” he told reporters here.
Death bowling plays an important role in the success of a team in the Twenty20 format, he said. “Last year, it was good for us as a bowling unit, as a batting unit as well. If you look particularly at death areas (sic), that was one of the positive things for us. If you want to win matches in the T20 format, you have to bowl really well in last four to five overs and that thing we did really well, including myself, Fizz (Mustafizzur Rahman), (Ashish) Nehra and (Barinder) Sran,” Bhuvneshwar said.
SRH takes on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket stadium on Wednesday. The absence of RCB’s main players, including captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, is an advantage for SRH, but it cannot take things for granted, Bhuvneshwar said.
“Everyone wants to win IPL. But, we know that it’s not going to be easy. Last year wasn’t easy. First match is against RCB. Two, three main players are not playing. So, we can take advantage of that. It does not mean that we can win the match. We have to play to our potential to win the match. Hoping for positive things,” he said.
Bhuvneshwar said he felt good to go into IPL after doing well for the national side in the bilateral series against Australia.
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