Plans didn’t change due to Bumrah’s absence: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Sydney, October 28

Senior India pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar says that Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from the T20 World Cup does not mean that the current bowling unit would deviate from the original plans in order to compensate for him.

Bumrah missed the tournament due to a stress fracture in the back, while Bhuvneshwar had endured a tough time during the Asia Cup and the bilateral series against Australia. He had leaked runs in the death overs and his performance had been criticised. However, the Meerut man has been in excellent rhythm overall, and it was his first spell of swing bowling that created pressure on Pakistan on Sunday, when he gave away only five runs in his first two overs. This helped the young Arshdeep Singh to get the wickets of Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam.

So, did the bowling unit do anything extra to compensate for Bumrah’s absence? “The kind of bowler Bumrah is, certainly it’s a big loss for the team… (but) it’s not as if we would have to do something extra that Bumrah isn’t around,” Bhuvneshwar said after the win over the Netherlands.

“Even if Bumrah would have been around, and if needed, we would have done those extra things. We are doing exactly what our strengths are,” Bhuvneshwar, who picked up 2/9 off three overs against the Netherlands, said.

‘One bad show’

Asked if the criticism of his Asia Cup death bowling had hurt him, after he has done well for India for a decade, Bhuvneshwar’s answer suggested that he wasn’t amused: “Itni saalon mein ek baar ho gayi cheezein kharab. So ho gayi. Baat khatm. (In all these years, things went bad this one time… It’s happened, it’s done and dusted).”

“Media and commentators can say a lot of things (about death bowling), but as a team we knew that we will have our share of ups and downs,” he added. “T20 is a format where it could be tough for bowlers and even for batters if the track is a difficult one. But since Asia Cup is a big event, people do tend to assess you that much more.”

Bhuvneshwar said he keeps away from social media during big events. “During World Cup, I keep myself completely off from social media and have no idea what all is written about me. Because it’s social media from which you come to know all these things,” he added.

In the first match against Pakistan in Melbourne, Bhuvneshwar tormented Rizwan with swinging deliveries, and says the swing was unexpected. “I never expected that my deliveries would swing so much. Whether me or Arshdeep who got two wickets, me and Arshdeep complemented each other. So you can say I was happy,” the senior bowler said.

Talk about Arshdeep and his face lights up. “He has been amazing since his debut. He was always asking about what kind of track will there be on offer and what kind of shots the batters will play on this track. He asks me and also Rohit and Virat. Considering his first T20 WC, he is doing really well,” Bhuvneshwar said.

He also confirmed that there are no designated death overs bowlers. “There are no assigned death bowlers as such. You can’t plan like that in cricket, where even before a tourney starts, you know who your death bowlers are,” he added. “A lot of things are instinctive and captain takes a call on how he assesses the situation at that very moment.”