SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) has over the years earned the title of being one of the most potent bowling outfits in the history of the Indian Premier League. And one man who plays an integral role in SRH bagging that reputation is Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
With the 13th edition of the league nine days away, the pacer is sweating it out in the UAE as cricketers look to hit the ground running post the coronavirus-induced break.
Speaking to , Bhuvneshwar threw light on returning to the training ground after the unforeseen break, adapting to the bio-bubble in Dubai, the break helping cricketers come back injury-free, the relationship with SRH skipper David Warner and most importantly the much-debated saliva ban.
Professional cricketers are known to be on the go 24x7 and when they are locked indoors for as long as five months, it gets very difficult. But the pacer is happy to be finally back on the ground, even if there are restrictions in movement.
"Definitely, it feels great to me to be back after a long time. Finally, I will get to do something which I love. The bio-secure environment is for our safety so that we can play cricket without any risk. We can't go to many places even in the hotel. There are areas that are designated to the team," he explained.
It was due to the virus that the International Cricket Council came out with a fresh set of rules and that includes the saliva ban. While many cricketers have spoken their mind, none better than Bhuvneshwar to throw light on the topic since he is known as one of the best exponents of swing bowling at present.
"I'm sure it's not going to affect swing bowling for sure. It might not make a big difference with a new white ball but can impact a lot when it comes to reverse swing," he highlighted.
Regarding tournament preparation, Bhuvneshwar said having a longish break has both positives as well as negatives. The pacer feels that while a cricketer would have got time to work on the body during the break, returning to top form will also take time.
"I would say that there are both positives and negatives to this (coronavirus-induced break). The positive is to get a break and give rest to the body, you tend to recover from injuries if there are any, but then, the negative is that it takes time to come back after such a long break. It might take weeks to get into full bowling (rhythm)," he said.
Talking of preparations, David Warner is back as the captain of the SRH and being a part of the decision-making unit of the franchise, Bhuvneshwar said it is great to have the Australia opener back as the leader as he led from the front when the SRH lifted the title.
He also termed it as the beauty of the league that while Warner and Bhuvneshwar will be sharing the dressing room till November, they will be playing against each other in December when India tours Australia.
"Good to have him back as a leader. He led from the front when we won the IPL. That's the beauty of IPL, playing with each other for two months and then playing against (each other) and giving everything to win. That has improved everyone's cricket," he said.
A major twist to this edition of the IPL will be the lack of fans in the stands with an eye on the health regulations and the pacer makes no bones about the fact that the fans are an integral part of any cricketer's journey. But he is quick to point that it is important that cricket resumes to bring a smile back to the face of the fans. In fact, his eagerness to see fan engagement recently saw him become brand ambassador of Playerzpot.
"This time it will be different from the previous seasons as there will be no one to watch at the ground and cheer up the players. It does boost our confidence and morale. However, on the other side, the good news is that at least cricket is resuming finally. And I hope that as things get better, everything will come back to normal," he signed off.
( With inputs from ANI )
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