India’s death overs specialist, Bhuvneshwar Kumar interacted with the media ahead of the 3rd and the decider T20I between Indian and New Zealand on November 7 at Thiruvananthapuram. In the pre-match press conference, he spoke about many aspects including wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s existence in the team which has been a hot topic after India’s loss in the 2nd T20I.
On being asked if the team is concerned about what would happen to MS Dhoni, he said,
We (as a team) don’t think much about that. You look over his records, he is a legend and whatever has he done, he did it for the country. So no one in the team has any doubt about him.
When asked about whether the team is missing a bowler in the playing XI, Bhuvi said,
You couldn’t just blame the bowlers. We have performed against other teams including Australia. A 3-match series is pretty short. If you lose a match, mostly the series enters into the decider. It’s not about we have missed something or haven’t inducted an extra bowler. It happens at times that the main bowlers miss picking wickets but the team balance is all well.
Bhuvneshwar also spoke about boosting confidence in the team as a bowling partner to Jasprit Bumrah, he said,
Talking about Bumrah, he has improved a lot including his bowling action. When you bowl alongside such a bowler then you automatically develop confidence. You have faith on the other that if you fail to perform he is there to restrict runs and take wickets. Ahead of the match we strategise the things and plan well.
On being asked about which New Zealand batsman has troubled the Indian bowlers the most, Bhuvi answered,
It’s not just one who has played really well from their (New Zealand) side. Colin Munro, Kane Williamson are very good batsmen and have played very well in the series. It’s not about that they have haunted us but they are a very good team.
On being asked if Trivandrum will prove to be a difficult venue for India considering that they haven’t played on the pitch before, he said,
We can’t really say anything about it. It will benefit if we are playing in India whatever the conditions are. Of course, it will be challenging but we have to tackle it.
In the last few months, we have seen a completely different Bhuvneshwar who could bat as well. On this changeover, Bhuvi stated,
Batting is a department I’ve always been confident about. Especially in Tests and have always tried to improve in ODIs. You always need an inning to bat and gain confidence. Like I batted against Sri Lanka, that inning helped me gaining confidence and our batting coach Sanjay Bangar also helped me a lot.
The series is currently levelled at 1-1 and the final match is going to be played on Tuesday, November 7.
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