The first One-day International between India and Australia in Sydney didn’t pan out well for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who went for 66 runs and picked only two wickets. And Kumar believes that not playing a single international match for a considerable amount of time can impact any bowler’s match rythem.
“It (not playing regularly) did impact (my rhythm). Match rhythm is totally different when it comes to bowling. I was trying everything to be in rhythm in the nets.
“But it can’t be a 100 per cent when you compare to a match (situation). It wasn’t great in the last match (in Sydney) but it wasn’t bad as well. It can improve, as the matches will go on,” he added.
During the past one month, Bhuvneshwar was training hard to get into match rhythm. “I was trying everything to be in rhythm. In the nets, I wasn’t planning or preparing to bowl in the ODIs. I was preparing like I have to play in any of the Tests. I was preparing in that manner. There wasn’t anything specific that I could do.
“But it was just normal bowling and increasing the number of overs. If I was bowling 4 overs (to start with), then go to 6, then 8, then 10. The key thing for me is to be niggle-free and be in bowling rhythm,” the UP seamer said.
Bhuvneshwar revealed that he wasn’t 100 percent fit during the series but currently is niggle free. “See, I was fit but I couldn’t say that I was a 100 per cent. Because in Test matches, it’s a five-day game, so I really didn’t know I would be able to go through that thing. What was good was we had bowlers who could play at that time and I got time to be 100 per cent fit again. I wasn’t really sure that time,” he said.
