I have worked a lot on my pace without ignoring the natural swing: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Men in Blue led by Virat Kohli made a comeback in 3-match ODI series, with a convincing six-wicket victory over the Kiwis in the 2nd ODI at Pune. The vital reason for the win was the Indian bowlers led by their most reliable pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He picked up 3 important wickets in his spell which helped them reduce the visitors to a low first innings total of 230 runs on a good batting surface. Bhuvneshwar stated that he has been working very hard on increasing his pace without ignoring the natural swing which he is famous for.

He was also adjudged as the Player of the Match for his match-winning bowling performance which helped the team level the series 1-1. The fast bowler revealed that he has grown very much as a limited-overs specialist in the past couple of years. He also admitted that there is also some improvement in his batting which is a great sign for the Indian team.

The important hard work for increasing the pace

A few years ago, Bhuvneshwar was a bowler who could bowl well with the new ball that he has the ability to swing both ways. But now, he has added pace to his bowling along with a lot more variations, is an improved bowler with his on point yorkers and death bowling skills. He admitted the fact that his pace has increased without compromising on the swing.

“As a player, I feel I have grown in the past couple of years. I have improved my pace without losing on the swing. That is something I am really happy about. In batting also I have improved a bit,” he said on the eve of the last ODI against New Zealand at Kanpur.

On working with bowling coach Bharat Arun

The 27-year old also shared his views on working with India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun. Bhuvneshwar stated that Arun shared some important points with him. “So he shared some fine points that helped me get my swing back. His role in the team is invaluable,” the pacer added.

The challenging Kiwis

Bhuvi also admitted that the Kane Williamson led Kiwi team has posed as a challenging competitor in the ODI series and the pressure was on the hosts after losing the first game.

“We have not been challenged like this in a while and it is a short series. So there was pressure in the last game that we could lose the series (having lost the first match). But the way we came back shows the character of the team. Tomorrow’s match is also about handling pressure. We will try to play like we played the last game,” the fast bowler added.

“Last series I played against New Zealand the planning was easy, it is the same for them also. Knowing them well and vice versa makes planning tougher. So it is a positive as well as a negative,” he concluded.