David Warner showers praise on Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his evolution

David Warner may not have had a great start in the limited overs series in India, but you can never rule him out of a detailed conversation off the field. He spoke to Boria Majumdar on a range of issues after Kuldeep Yadav’s hat-trick helped India defend 252 at the Eden Gardens and go 2-0 up in the five-match ODI series. The Australian vice-captain was his usual candid self and responded to Yadav’s jibe and spoke at length about Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s evolution as a pacer.

On being asked about Hardik Pandya’s dismissal where a no-ball triggered confusion in the second India-Australia ODI when the visiting side claimed Pandya’s wicket in a dead ball situation, was turned down by the on-field umpires. The Indian all-rounder was on 19 when his miss-hit off a waist-high full-toss went straight into Steve Smith’s hands at cover. It was raining by then and Pandya, without realising that it was a no-ball, started walking back to the dressing room.

Warner cleared out the on-field chaos by saying, “We were under the impression that the umpire didn’t give him out originally. So we were saying why can’t he be run-out? So we were thinking if you are a batsman you’d probably keep running. So we were asking if he’s not given out, will it be given runs? The umpire said ‘no…it’s dead and you can’t run him out.’

“It was a funny incident and as a player you just want clarity if the umpire is going to give him out or is he going to call it a no ball. In these situations, maybe a World Cup final or something…if you hit a ball in the air and the umpire calls it a no-ball and you keep running, you can be run-out. That’s where we were coming from,” he added.

On Bhuvi’s evolution

He also showered praise on Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mate Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s splendid time on the field with not only the ball but also with a bat. Knowing the swing specialist’s game closely, he added that his batting performance of-late is what impressed him most and applauds his journey so far.

“I reckon he gained a couple of years. Bowling a bit faster and he has gained a bit of strength of what I see and it’s always about confidence…he has had that confidence in the IPL, he has been given that opportunity again in playing for India in Test match formats, he has bowled fantastic.”

“His key is his upfront swing and his death bowling and I think he has used that to his advantage very well. And I know as a batsman, when you try to take on these guys, when they’re going well, it’s always going to be challenging. You actually have to wait for that really bad ball, you might not get it, so you have to see his spell out but when you do, you need to pounce on it. But at the moment he is flying high on confidence and I like that seeing on any player,” he added.

“It speaks volumes of the person he is. He was out of the team, he made his way back into the team through to the IPL and now he’s back playing for India. One thing that has impressed me is his batting. He is coming out and playing his shots, tinkered with his technique. That’s probably one of the senior players giving his confidence and that’s probably a string he has added to his bow and the confidence for Virat of having him,” concluded the explosive Aussie opener.