The right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ready to restart his international career. Like the top teams, the Indian team is also preparing for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020, and they are taking every upcoming match as the preparation for the tournament.
On Thursday (12th March), the hosts India will play the first game of the three-match ODI series against South Africa at Dharamsala.
The recent New Zealand tour has put the negative impacts on the confidence of the Indian cricketers. They started that tour by winning the five-match T20I series (5-0), but then they suffered defeats in the three-match ODI series (3-0) and two-match Test series (2-0).
So, the Indian players are desperate to win the upcoming ODI series against South Africa to get the confidence back.
Bhuvneshwar claimed, “International matches are important. We just lost a series in New Zealand and you all are aware of the reactions after that. Our aim is to win the series because if we don’t do well, an individual’s confidence also gets affected.”
All big teams are focusing on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020. Australia will host this tournament from 18th October to 15th November 2020.
Though Bhuvneshwar understands that T20 cricket is different from ODI cricket, he feels that they will be confident enough before the IPL 2020 if they win the forthcoming home ODI series.
He added, “T20 is a different thing but if we do well here, we will have confidence going into the IPL which is necessary.”
IPL 2020 will run from 29th March to 24th May 2020. It will be important for every cricketer as they want ideal preparation for the T20 WC 2020.
It’s difficult to maintain pace when you are returning from an injury: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The 30-year-old right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar last played for India in last December during the home T20I series against West Indies. He has finally returned to the national team after recovering from the successful sports hernia surgery, which he underwent in last January.
While Bhuvneshwar has admitted that it is not easy to make a comeback from an injury, he believes that the consistent matches will give him confidence.
He said, “It’s difficult to maintain pace when you are returning from an injury because it always plays on the mind that if you strive for pace then the injury might reoccur. The best option is such a case is to play matches as much as possible to gain confidence that you are fit.”
Bhuvneshwar feels that the Indian pace bowling unit has healthy competition which he believes good for a team as well as for an individual.
The right-arm pacer added, “If we look from the team’s perspective, if a bowler is injured and there are 2-3 bowlers to replace him, you know there is healthy competition.”
“So, it’s a positive point because then you will be making your comeback with a positive mindset. You will prepare for the competition. So, it’s good for the team as well as for an individual.”
Bhuvneshwar has also revealed that he was not hurrying up to return to the national team. He recently proved his fitness in the Dr DY Patil T20 Cup 2020.
He claimed, “When I started after the surgery, I started slowly. After one week I started different exercises related to bowling and then when I felt I am fit, I started bowling at the nets and played matches.
“…I didn’t want to return without playing a practice match.”
Representing for Reliance 1, Bhuvneshwar played five matches in the Dr DY Patil T20 Cup 2020 and took only one wicket.