Pune: Coming back from an injury, senior India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has said this summer’s away Test series against England is on his mind. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also said he will be monitoring his workload in the upcoming edition of the IPL. This is because red ball cricket remains ‘my priority’.
Bhuvneshwar has had a lot of injury issues in the last two years. He was the team’s second highest wicket-taker in the three-match ODI series against England with six scalps. Most of his wickets came at crucial junctures.
Bhuvneshwar was asked after the game if he is thinking about making a comeback in Tests. “Of course, red ball cricket is in my radar. I will prepare keeping red ball in mind. However, what kind of team will be selected for Test matches is entirely different scenario,” Bhuvneshwar said.
“My workload management and training during IPL will be keeping red ball in mind. I know there’s a lot of Tests ahead and my priority still is Test cricket. So from my end, I will do everything to get ready for the Test series,” he added.
However, while he would prepare in earnest, Bhuvneshwar doesn’t want to make too many plans. This is because they can backfire due to various reasons.
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“I have stopped making long-term plans. In the past when I have done that, things haven’t gone in my favour. Be it because of injury or form,” Bhuvi pointed out. “But yes, workload management is something I will be seriously monitoring along with team management. Since I was unfit for a long time, I had to ensure that I put a lot of emphasis on being fit. We have a lot of cricket ahead along with England tour, so I will try and keep myself fit,” Bhuvneshwar added.
The 31-year-old Meerut-born speedster was content with his performance in the ODI series. However, he asserted that there is always scope for improvement.
“What I wanted to do in these matches, I got that, but there is always something to improve on. It could be variations, fitness or any other aspect of the game,” the pacer pointed out.
“So being a team what we wanted to do, what we wanted to achieve, we got it. But then I want to work on a lot of things, like improving my knuckle ball,” Bhuvneshwar said.
Bhuvneshwar praised the performance of his younger pace colleague Shardul Thakur. “He (Thakur) came on as a second change when the ball doesn’t swing at all and it was a flat deck. It’s very difficult for a bowler to bowl in such a situation. He changed the match during that phase, he played the role that usually spinners play, we were one spinner short today (Sunday). He gave the breakthrough and gave us upper-hand,” Bhuvneshwar pointed out.