Dhawal Kulkarni excited to work with Anil Kumble
Oct 7, 2016 at 1:17 PM
After an impressive show on the first day of the 2016/17 Ranji Trophy, more good news was in store for Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni. The right arm pacer was chosen in the ODI squad for the home series against New Zealand, with regular pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami being rested for the series, keeping in mind India’s test series against England which follows the ODI series.
Kulkarni has been in and out of the team and has never been given a prolonged run owing to the presence of other pacers on the bench. In 11 ODI’s, Kulkarni has performed quite well as his 18 wickets have come at a decent average and economy rate. The pacer bowled quite well for his IPL franchise Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016, and would be eager to carry on the good show.
After being named in India’s squad for the ODI series, Kulkarni was a pleased individual and looked forward to bowling under the coaching of Anil Kumble. “I have not trained under him, but he was a part of the Mumbai Indians set-up when I played for them. He is the greatest spinner to have played for India. So it will be a great experience to learn from him,” said Kulkarni.
Speaking about his exploits for Mumbai, the pacer said, “The first year I played for Mumbai, I had no interest in fitness.” “It is from players like Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Sachin Tendulkar that I learnt the importance of fitness. I never went to the gym. But if you look at the current set-up, a lot of importance is given to fitness. You realise it when so many opportunities are lost if you are not fit.”
“I work really hard on my fitness. I keep bowling as much as possible in the nets. Instead of doing anything else, I prefer bowling in the nets consistently. That helps me,” Kulkarni concluded.