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Ex-Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria slammed out-of-form India speedster Bhuvneshwar Kumar, claiming that the Meerut-born player was not learning from his mistakes.
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar has done exceedingly well with the new ball, causing havoc among frontline batters of opposition sides, it is his death bowling that has been worrisome.
In the matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup and then again in the first game of the three-match T20I series against Australia at home, Bhuvneshwar was taken to the cleaners and was the main man responsible for India's defeats in all these matches.
But Danish Kaneria opined that it wasn't just his bowling at the backend that was concerning for Team India, even his bowling up front was now letting the side down.
According to Danish Kaneria, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gone for far too many runs in the death overs, his confidence seems to have shaken and that's why he has been a little inconsistent even with the new ball.
“You won't improve unless you are willing to take criticism. While he has been an amazing fast bowler and has done really well, he is not at his best right now. He is struggling with the new ball and it's the same case towards the backend as well. He is not trying to do anything different and has proved to be expensive consistently,” Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.
“This was Jasprit Bumrah's first full 20-over match since returning from injury. He conceded a lot of runs. But we must note that Australia played with a lot of intent, despite losing wickets at regular intervals. He hasn't found his rhythm, but he will be fine,” Danish Kaneria added.
However, Danish Kaneria's views on Bhuvneshwar Kumar weren't shared by former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar and two-time World Cup winner Sreesanth.
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Both former India cricketers backed Bhuvneshwar Kumar to come out of this recent slump and once again showcase his wizardry with the ball.
“With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, it's never a very simple answer but you’ve got to give one of the simple answers and one of the main reasons why Bhuvi seems to be off the boil – is playing too much cricket. In the sense, that he’s played all the matches coming into this series as well,” Sanjay Manjrekar told SPORTS18.
“So, I'm going to put down Bhuvneshwar Kumar's current performance to just match fatigue. Harshal Patel has limitations as a seam bowler, but India must look as one of the third seamer options and must look at a couple of others as options and I keep stressing on Mohammed Shami as the other option,” Sanjay Manjrekar elaborated.
Sreesanth, on the other hand, said that Bhuvneshwar Kumar will not only find a spot for himself in the playing XI but will play a key role for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
“He has done up good batsmen. Even if you bowl good balls, there are 60-70% chances of being hit. Sometimes, it works out and sometimes it doesn't. We have to support Bhuvneshwar Kumar, just like (we have to support) Dinesh Karthik when it comes to batting. I’m very confident about his experience and ability to swing the ball; he has a back-of-the-length slower ball, he has got the knuckle ball. If he varies his pace on the hard bouncy wickets, he will get good help on Australian pitches,” Sreesanth told hindustantimes.com.
“If Bhuvneshwar Kumar is listening to this – most often they don't do it – but my only request is to never ever stop believing in your abilities. Sometimes, you really stop believing in your abilities. Sometimes, you get confused. Sometimes, you read a lot, and watch a lot of videos. Sometimes, you listen to a lot of opinions on the commentary. Even I have done that; everyone goes through that phase. But you got to believe in the immense ability that has got you here and made you the king. You got to believe in the higher power and trust your work ethics,” Sreesanth added.
“Bhuvneshwar's work ethics are superb. When he was at the Vijay Hazare, he was at the gym, he was at the pool. He wanted to do more and more. It’s great to see that even now, he works hard. See, everyone is talking about the 19th over, but I'm telling you, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is going to do extremely well in Australia,” Sreesanth summed up.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be back in action on Wednesday when Rohit Sharma and his men will face South Africa in the first T20I at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the southern state of Kerala.
The Men in Blue would look to carry forward the momentum and look to win the series against the Temba Bavuma-led side after clinching a 2-1 victory over the visiting Australians recently.
