Bhuvneshwar Kumar more matured than Ishant Sharma as a bowler: Balwinder Sandhu

Only recently, Indian bowling spearhead, Bhuvneshwar Kumar entered the record books with his exploits. Kumar, 28, became the first Indian pacer to take a fifer in all three formats of the game. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s heroics, the Indian team kickstarted their T20campaign against South Africa on a winning note, sealing the first fixture with a comprehensive 28 runs victory.

And now, BCCI’s NCA bowling consultant Balwinder Singh Sandhu has heaped praises on the speedster for his five-wicket haul on Sunday’s T20 at the Wanderers. Sandhu, who featured in India’s 1983 World Cup winning squad feels Bhuvneshwar’s street-smart approach is the reason for his success. He also opined that Bhuvi is much more matured than his counterpart Ishant Sharma, and his recent heroics serve as a testament to that.

According to news daily Mid-Day, the 61-year-old said, “Bhuvi is a street-smart cricketer. If you compare Bhuvneshwar with other bowlers we have, they may have more pace and are much stronger than him, but this guy is more matured as a bowler.”

He added, “Bhuvi has shown more maturity than (senior pacer) Ishant (Sharma). He gives an impression of being the main strike bowler, but that is not the case when Ishant is bowling. Bhuvi is a thinking bowler.”

 Overview of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s scalps in the Johannesburg T20

After a promising start from the Proteas openers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered an early break in the third over of the host’s innings. The Uttar Pradesh born bowler delivered his trademark knuckleball to dismiss JJ Smuts. An over later, he went in for a deceiving leg cutter, which once again pulled back his pace and got the better of Proteas skipper JP Duminy.

The Indian bowling spearhead again returned in the death overs. And his triple-strike in the 18th over wrecked havoc to the hosts as it ensured a brilliant win for India. Kumar eventually returned with career-best figures of 5/24, registering his maiden five-wicket haul in the shortest format.