Lack of matches affected rhythm in Sydney: Bhuvi
ADELAIDE: Not playing an international match for a considerable amount of time can impact any bowler’s match rhythm and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar learnt it the hard way after being hit for 66 runs in the first ODI against Australia at Sydney.
Bhuvneshwar, who was part of the Test squad, wasn’t picked in the playing XI during the fourmatch series and did look rusty during the slog overs of the opening ODI.
Asked if being out of competitive cricket for a month can have an impact, he replied: “It (not playing regularly) did impact (my rhythm). Match rhythm is totally different when it comes to bowling. I was trying everything to be in rhythm in the nets.
“But it can’t be a 100 per cent when you compare to a match (situation). It wasn’t great in the last match (in Sydney) but it wasn’t bad as well. It could improve, as matches go on.”
During the past one month, he was training hard.
“I was trying everything to be in rhythm. In the nets, I wasn’t preparing (as if) to bowl in ODIs. I was preparing like I have to play in any of the Tests.
So, what was his routine? “It was just normal bowling, increasing the number of overs. If I was bowling 4 overs (to start with), then go to 6, 8, 10. The key for me is to be niggle-free and in bowling rhythm,” he said.
The training included regaining sharpness in yorkers at the nets. “I was trying to bowl yorkers by keeping the shoe (at the spot). It is something I have been doing. In Tests, we hardly need that, and I didn’t play a Test.”
INJURY FREE
Bhuvneshwar revealed he wasn’t 100 percent fit during the Tests but was ready to play now.
“See, I was fit but I couldn’t say I was a 100 per cent. Because in Test matches, it’s a five-day game, so I really didn’t know I would be able to go through that thing. What was good was we had bowlers who could play at that time and I got time to be 100 per cent fit again. I wasn’t really sure that time,” he said.
Bhuvneshwar claimed that he has been able to regain his usual pace and will be bowling at 130135 kph.
“I was going through niggles at that time (in England) and when you have a niggle you can’t be a 100 per cent, so that was during that period. Since then and now, I have trained a lot, especially during the one month of the Test series. I trained a lot. That is the reason I am back to 130-135 (pace). The main thing is I am niggle-free right now. That’s the main thing,” he said.