Bhuvneshwar Kumar Admits He Never Used Pace As A Primary Skill To Take Wickets

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of those pace bowlers today, who relies more on swing than pace to make the batsmen feel uneasy or uncomfortable. The seamer took his first wickets in ODI and T20I, dismissing Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed respectively with a peach of inswingers. In a chat with Deep Dasgupta, Bhuvneshwar Kumar admitted that even after increasing his pace, he never made speed his primary weapon.

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The Meerut seamer was supposed to be part of the home ODI series against South Africa this March, which was called off due to COVID-19 threat. His form has remained inconsistent in recent times due to extensive injuries, the last of which he sustained on his groin during the T20 series against West Indies. Hence, the three ODIs against the Proteas was a chance for the 30-year old to remain in contention for the T20 World Cup as well.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar recalled the 2015 ODI series against South Africa when for the first time he realized, his pace had increased. However, he never overused deliveries like bouncers to remove the batsmen. While his speed progressed from 130-132 to 137-138 kph, the right-arm paceman admitted that he didn’t attempt to scare the batsmen. He managed only seven wickets in five games at 49.57.

“There was a series against South Africa in India in 2015. That was the first series where I realized my pace had increased. But I never went with a mindset that I have to bounce the batsmen out. Usually, my pace used to be about 130-132 kph on average. But in that series, it went up to 137-138 kph,” Bhuvneshwar said.

Luckily, I was aware of my strength – getting the ball to swing: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

While acknowledging that he never used pace as a primary weapon to take wickets, the 30-year-old worked on his speed and used that skill jointly to get the ball moving that helped him gain confidence. However, Bhuvneshwar admitted that he struggled during that series since he did something different from what he usually does. At present, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has featured in 21 Tests, 43 T20Is, and 114 ODIs and is one of the best death bowlers going around.

“Subconsciously, I felt like I was bowling very fast, but I never tried to scare the batsmen because 138 is only decent pace at this level. But for me it was very fast. For someone who is used to bowling 130-132 kph when you start bowling at 138 kph, it is a big shift. My body made me feel like I was bowling very fast and I thought I could hit the batsmen on his pads or have him caught in the slips. I actually struggled a bit in that series as well because I was doing which wasn’t my strength.

Not because I had started bowling fast but my body made me realise that I was bowling fast. I thought it was decent enough pace to get the ball to swing and after the series, I worked on it. Luckily, I was aware of my strength – getting the ball to swing and gradually at 135-138 kph, I was able to get the ball swing, which helped me gain confidence.” he concluded.

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