SURVIVOR BHUVI SWINGS IT HIS WAY

Reduced To Being A T20 Specialist, Challenged By Injuries & Competition, Pacer Quietly Wins Back Place As Lynchpin Of The Attack

- Arani Basu

Dubai: Four years ago, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was at the top of his game here in Dubai. With Jasprit Bumrah evolving rapidly as a bowler at the other end, Bhuvneshwar became India’s first pick in white-ball cricket. That he was falling behind in Test cricket, despite a productive record, hardly came up for debate.

Bhuvneshwar’s potency with the new ball has overshadowed his capabilities at the deep end of a game. The dream run continued till the 2019 World Cup. A never-ending wait to recover from a hamstring injury saw a host of fast bowlers springing up from India’s massive resource pool.

By the time he took the field back for India in 2021, Bhuvi had to fight for his place. The indifferent performance in the T20 World Cup last here in Dubai dragged him to the edge. The annihilation at the hands of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had put his future in Team India Blues in serious doubt. “That was one match which didn’t go my way. That can happen to anybody. I got back to doing what I used to do, the same drills and routine which are very boring,” Bhuvneshwar asserted after his masterclass performance on Sunday.