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Even in his early days, Bhuvi loved bowling maidens: Coach
LUCKNOW It came as no surprise to coach Sanjay Rastogi when his trainee and Team India’s senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar achieved the mark of bowling the highest number of maiden overs in T20I cricket on Sunday
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LUCKNOW It came as no surprise to coach Sanjay Rastogi when his trainee and Team India’s senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar achieved the mark of bowling the highest number of maiden overs in T20I cricket on Sunday.
Meerut’s Kumar achieved this feat in the T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Melbourne on Sunday (November 6), pushing Jasprit Bumrah to the second spot with nine maiden overs.
“He (Kumar) has been a consistent performer. Even in his early days in the game, he enjoyed bowling maiden overs in domestic cricket. He has always been a tough nut to crack, especially when he gets some swing in the air as well as from the pitch,” Rastogi said on Wednesday.
The coach monitored Kumar’s training in August for three-days at the Victoria Park Academy ahead of the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“He could have gone somewhere else for training, but he chose to bowl on a single wicket on his favourite turf for long before bowling to his U.P. Ranji Trophy team colleagues like Priyam Garg and Sameer Chaudhary. We made hard and grassy wickets especially for him as he wanted to test his skills on such pitches,” Rastogi said.
Rastogi, who played as a fast bowler up to the university level, said Bhuvi loves challenges too, but doesn’t show his aggression on the field.
“Only I know when he gets angry with a batter. He doesn’t show his expression in a match. But hits back with some fine deliveries in further overs.”
“Look at his economy (5.40 runs) at this World Cup. Despite having just four wickets in five matches, Bhuvi has three maidens to his name. For me, it’s a very big thing as he has been taking early wickets for the side. So far, I haven’t talked to him but I know taking early wickets remains on top of his agenda. It’s not going to change even against England in the semi-final on Thursday,” Rastogi, 54, said.
The coach felt it was Bhuvi’s self-confidence that helped him stay calm even in the “crisis” days.
“There was so much talk about his pace but he didn’t lose his calm and kept working hard . He has been a great observer of the game and also a good executor of plans. I know the pressure on him but we never discussed it. I knew Bhuvi would let his performance do the talking.”
“Expectations are high but he isn’t a machine, who can bowl all 24 deliveries as yorkers or dot balls in a T20 game. His consistent performance in the IPL speaks volumes of his consistency. As a swing bowler, Bhuvi’s talent is inborn. Even on day one of training at the age of 13, he could could swing the ball. I didn’t do much about his swing but I always made sure that opportunities shouldn’t go waste.”
“He (Bhuvi) was such a talent that he was asked to play directly in the knockouts of the Under-17 matches even though he missed the league matches due to bad health for almost one year in junior cricket. It was former Test offie and U.P. selector Gopal Sharma, who always protected the best of talents like Bhuvi and PK.”
The coach also said that Bhuvi’s down-to-earth behaviour makes him a strong person.
“He called me up from Australia during a tour when he came to know about the death of an individual at the academy. He even had told his father to take care of the family of the individual. All this has made him the darling of all here in Meerut.”
The coach said he didn’t feel bad when people started criticising Bhuvi for his bowling in the recent past.
“It didn’t hurt me. It was a phase and I knew that same set of people would start praising him. That is what is happening right now. Criticism is part of everyone’s life and a person like Bhuvi takes it as an inspiration to do well. He doesn’t allow negativity to hit him.”
Rastogi, who mentored former India pacer Praveen Kumar from Meerut before coaching Bhuvi at the Victoria Park Ground , still has 150 trainees, including 90 pacers. “This number could surprise anyone, but it’s a reality as here in Meerut everyone wants to become pacers like PK and Bhuvi,” the coach said.
