There is absolutely no doubt that Sunrisers Hyderabad punched above their weight in the last edition of the Indian Premier League. The defending champions exceeded all the expectations and blew away all the teams that came their way as they clinched their maiden IPL title.
The contribution of the pacers was probably the biggest reason behind their title-clinching campaign. Led by the brilliant Bhuvneshwar Kumar, SRH never gave the breathing space to the oppositions. The India pacer bagged the Purple Cap for finishing the season as its highest wicket-taker. As expected, the expectations are sky-high from Bhuvneshwar for this edition and the fast-bowler is under no illusion that it is going to be a tough season.
“Last year, it was good for the bowling unit, particularly bowling in the death overs. That was one of the positive things for us. If you want to win matches in T20s, you have to bowl really well in the last four-five overs and we did that really well, myself, Fizz [Mustafizur] and Nehra. This year it is going to be a challenge. There will be expectations. That doesn’t mean we’re not good, but it is going to be added responsibility,” the pacer ahead of his team’s first clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The Uttar Pradesh star played a key role in India’s series-clinching win in the Dharamsala Test against Australia and he is happy to get some much-needed match practice before the IPL.
“I worked hard,” he noted. “It feels good when you perform for your country. So it was good to play the last few matches before we got into IPL. I didn’t have anything to prove to anybody, but myself and that too because I’m constantly on the lookout to improve my game,” he said. “No one is complete in cricket, even a bowler who has taken 500 or 600 wickets can’t say that he can deliver every time. No one in cricket can be sure, but you can be confident of doing well.”
The 27-year old further said that more than the busy schedule, it’s the travel that makes the league a difficult one for the players.
“More than the playing part, it’s the travel that makes it difficult. We play only 14 matches, but we travel a lot. The biggest and toughest part is travelling,” he said.