I Am Working On Coming Out Of This Lockdown As A Better Version Of Myself- Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India and Sunrisers Hyderabad seam bowler, has endured a long time away from the game due to a combination of injuries and the coronavirus-enforced lockdown in recent months

Kumar, who missed a major part of the 2019-20 season due to ‘sports hernia, was scheduled to make a comeback to competitive cricket with the ODI series against South Africa back in March but it was eventually postponed due to the halt in cricketing proceedings due to Covid-19.

The Uttar Pradesh bowler, in a recent interview to ESPNCricinfo, revealed how he worked his way to emerge as a better version of himself during the lockdown.

“I was very motivated for the first 15 days of the lockdown. No one knew how long it would last and I didn’t have any equipment to exercise at home either. I did bodyweight workouts to keep myself fit. But after 15 days, I started finding it difficult to motivate myself. I then ordered equipment at home and things have improved since,” Bhuvneshwar Kumar told ESPNCricinfo.

“We, or I rather, generally give excuses that I don’t have enough time to improve my fitness given we end up playing so many matches. So I am working on coming out of this lockdown as a better version of myself,” he added.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens up on the time that he spent during rehab

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been grappled with recurring injuries in the past two years. The only Indian bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in all the three formats of the game, revealed the mental trauma a sportsman goes through during the injury as well as the subsequent rehabilitation process.

“Generally, when I come back from an injury, I have some niggle or the other. If I keep bowling and get my body used to that rhythm, I stay fine. In the last couple of years, it has happened with me a few times that when I took a break from playing for two or three weeks, I had some niggle or the other on return. I worked on that as well. Whenever I took a break from playing, I didn’t stop bowling. I may rotate my arms at home or bend my back to ensure that my body is used to the bowling action,” Kumar added.

“When you go to the NCA, your rehab work lasts only for a couple of hours in the day. The rest of the day is when you start feeling frustrated. I remember before the lockdown I was at the NCA, and the last one month there was a tough period. Somehow, I used to stretch my time training at the academy for up to three hours, but after returning to the hotel, it was difficult to kill time.” he revealed.

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