‘India haven’t missed an extra specialist bowler’: Bhuvneshwar Kumar defends strategy against Kiwis

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Monday said India’s bowler could not be blamed for the team’s 40-run loss in the second T20I against New Zealand at Rajkot.

The 27-year-old said the team was not missing a specialist fifth bowler, adding that a lot of thought has gone into picking the current combination.

“You cannot blame bowlers for the loss,” Bhuvneshwar said. “The other team is there to play as well. We have played good cricket against Australia and even when we toured the West Indies. The three- match series are very small and if you lose the first game and then tie it 1-1, you have to play a decider.”

“As far as a fifth bowler is concerned, we have Hardik Pandya and others bowl part-time. We haven’t missed an extra specialist bowler so far. If your main bowlers do not take a wicket or go for runs, then you miss a bowler. But we think a lot about team combination,” he added.

‘Bumrah has improved a lot’

Bhuvneshwar also credited Jasprit Bumrah for effectively using his “different” action to create problems for batsmen.

“Bumrah has a different action, which creates problems for the batsmen. He has improved a lot of things with his action. He had these yorkers and slower ones earlier as well but he has improved a lot,” said Bhuvenshwar.

He also backed him for the confidence Bumrah has during the death overs of the game. “When you bowl with Bumrah, you have confidence that if you need to save runs later (at the death), if you bowl well, he will also do it with me.”

The duo keeps discussing strategies ahead of crucial spells and games. “Another good thing is that when the match begins, we talk to each other about the track, what strategy we can make. It’s of great help for both the bowlers,” he added.

‘Munro has troubled us’

Asked who was the most difficult New Zealand batsman to bowl to, Kumar said Colin Munro had done particularly well but there were other quality batsmen too.

“Munro has troubled us but others as well. Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill are good batsmen as well. We can’t really pin-point one batsman when the team is playing really well. Both series have come to the decider so Munro is the dangerous batsman but the whole team is a good one,” he said.

He also said his batting in limited-overs games had improved a lot because of tips from batting coach Sanjay Bangar. “I have batted well in Tests and always wanted to do well in ODIs too. The knock in Sri Lanka and the partnership with MS (Dhoni) gave me a lot of confidence. I bat according to the situation. A lot of credit for this must go to (Sanjay) Bangar,” he said.

He said all the players were available for selection for Tuesday’s game and added that there were no injury concerns. Asked if the team was worried about Dhoni’s struggles, he said, “No one has any doubt about him. He is a legend and he knows what he is doing.”