Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli praised pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s resurgance during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), lauding the veteran’s “uncomplicated consistency backed with tremendous belief”. In a tournament which has for so long seen batters stealing the spotlight with record-breaking fifties, centuries, sixes and scoring rates, Bhuvneshwar’s swing bowling has left them puzzled. In 12 matches so far, Bhuvneshwar has taken 22 wickets at an average of 16.13 and an economy rate of 7.55, with best figures of 4/23.
His bowling is a massive reason why RCB could be headed to qualifier one, which gives them the best chance of reaching the finals again and winning the trophy back-to-back.
However, this road to IPL resurgance has not been very simple for Bhuvneshwar as he has dealt with injuries and forces of time and age, that have not only left him out of Team India scene, but also led to him not being the same bowler he was in his prime with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2010s. But despite that, Bhuvneshwar’s discipline, consistency and repetition of processes that he has trusted for so long, has led to a flood of wickets for the ‘Swing King’.
Speaking on Bhuvneshwar’s success in the RCB Podcast teaser on his X handle, Virat said that having technical abilities can help one adjust, especially through a tough phase and eventually achieve success.
“When you have technical abilities in place, you can always adjust. And especially when you are going through a tough phase, it is easier for the guys who have technical foundation to adjust and find a way to score or find a way to get wickets. What is Bhuvi doing? He is not bowling banana in-swing, banana out-swingers,” he said.
“He is bowling at a length that is telling the guys, “I am good enough to hit this length every time. It is the most difficult length to hit and I am just gonna keep hitting this length. Are you good enough to take me on or not?” It is simple stuff. It is repetition, it is execution, it is uncomplicated consistency backed with tremendous belief. That is all he is doing and look at the results. He’s got six 3-wicket hauls in 11 games. That’s crazy. He is not even going at eights (in economy rate) this season,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar’s success has witnessed him become the first pacer to reach 200 IPL wickets during this season, standing with 220 wickets in 202 matches at an average of 26.21 and an economy rate of 7.68, with three four-fers and two five-fors. With two group games and playoffs yet to come, he has a good chance of matching/overtaking spinner Yuzi Chahal’s all-time high tally of 230 wickets.
RCB is at the top of the table with eight wins and four losses, with 16 points. They have earned two back-to-back wins against Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after a brief midseason slump and their next match will be against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Dharamsala on May 17.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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