Bhuvneshwar Kumar
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Profile
From Sports.NDTV
FULL NAME Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh
BORN February 5, 1990 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
BATTING STYLE Right Handed
BOWLING Right-arm medium
BOWLING RANK Test - 37, ODI - 23, World Cup - 23, T20I - 82
TEAMS PLAYED India, Central Zone, India A, India Blue, Bangalore, Uttar Pradesh, Pune, Hyderabad
MAN OF THE MATCH Tests - 0, ODIs - 3, World Cups - 0, T20Is - 0, IPLs - 5, CLs - 0,
CAREER SPAN [Test, 2013 - 2017], [ODI, 2012 - 2017], [World Cup, 2015], [T20I, 2012 - 2017], [IPL, 2011 - 2017], [CL, 2009], and continuing
Not many bowlers begin their career as well as Bhuvneshwar Kumar did for India. He struck in his very first over in both ODIs and T20Is, both against Pakistan in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Kumar is well renowned for his ability to swing the ball both ways.
Champions Trophy, 2017
Partha Bhaduri, The Times of India, Jun 17 2017
The Reinvention Of India's Key Pacer Has Paid Off Immensely
One man, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has been two-thirds of the Indian bowling attack in England.
The soft-spoken, affable, almost unassuming pacer from Meerut has displayed rare smarts and keen adaptability under trying circumstances for bowlers in this Champions Trophy .
Primarily known as a swing bowler with middling pace who can thrive with the red ball in the right conditions, Bhuvneshwar has in recent years added dimensions to his game.
In this tournament, the white ball hasn't swung and the pitches have been harder. Bhuvneshwar has made his mark by adding a layer of pace and also deft variations, acquiring the skill to cleverly alter his lengths, bowl nagging lines and apply the slow choke early on in the innings. The batsman is left gasping for runs and desperate to break through, making him vulnerable to a rash stroke.
Following the defeat to Sri Lanka, captain Virat Kohli's decision to hand the new ball to Jasprit Bumrah to partner the wily Bhuvneshwar in a clever inversion of India's usual death-bowling pair has added fresh impetus to the attack.
Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav, who rely primarily on pace and swing, have been left cooling their heels as Bhuvi and Bumrah ply their trade in knuckle balls, slower balls, yorkers and subtle variations in length.
Their success has allowed the spinners some leeway on these flat surfaces. Bhuvi, in particular, has carried his younger partner along and asked difficult questions of the batsmen. Sabbir Rehman during the game against Bangladesh, and Hashim Amla and De Kock in the South Africa match, will vouch for Bhuvi's new `strike-bowler' skills.
“It is difficult bowling in these conditions,“ Bhuvneshwar said after the game against South Africa.“The only thing you have to change is length. Everyone is bowling a bit `back' compared to what they usually bowl. Generally we always go for wickets in the first 10 overs when the ball swings, but now we look to contain them and then take wickets when the pressure builds.“
While that could also explain the success of the subcontinental teams in this Champions Trophy, Bhuvi 2.0 has been in the making for a while.Back in the 2015 World Cup, it was Bhuvneshwar, and not Umesh or Shami, who was warming the benches more often. Days earlier, d u r i n g I n d i a 's lengthy four-Test tour of Australia in 2014-15, Bhuvi had seemed a spent force. He subsequently worked on his fitness, tried to add some pace not always smoothly and came back a different bowler.
Among the four lead pacers in India's Champions Trophy squad Bumrah, Umesh, Shami and Bhuvi it was Bhuvi who had the most IPL wickets this time, 26 from 14 games, at an economy rate of 7.05 and a strike rate of 12.07. He has been in prime form heading to England, a place usually hospitable to his skills, allowing him to reprise his 2013 Champions Trophy performance.
Dot balls have played a big role in his act: 17 against Pakistan, 30 against Sri Lanka, 28 against South Africa and 37 against Bangladesh.The most Bhuvi has conceded in his first spell of five overs has been 29, against Bangladesh, but he also bagged two wickets in that spell.
“Bhuvneshwar has been outstanding and always very consistent,“ said Kohli. “Especially in the last two games, both Bhuvi and Bumrah have been terrific initially and in the later stages as well.Their wicket-taking ability is something the opposition knows, so they are a lw ay s c a re f u l about going hard against these two guys.“
2017
World’s ‘Finest White-Ball Bowler’
VVS Laxman, 'Bhuvi's rise as world's best is no accident', October 27, 2017: The Times of India
Laxman Terms Seamer Finest White-Ball Bowler
Retribution was swift and decisive as India bounced back from a rare defeat in Mumbai in clinical fashion in the second ODI in Pune. It wasn't just the fact that India won by six wickets that was impressive. Their strategies and game plans, executed wonderfully well by the bowlers with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in the forefront, were particularly eye-catching.
Having worked with Bhuvi at close quarters for a few years now, I can assert that it is no accident that he has reached the lofty heights he occupies today , as one of the finest white-ball bowlers in world cricket.
When he was not in the Indian team through the early parts of 2016, he worked hard on improving his skills and adding to his repertoire of variations. He was always a wonderful swing bowler, but by the time he came to IPL 2016, he had become a couple of yards quicker without compromising on his swing.
He has loads of confidence and self-belief, and is like a sponge when it comes to learning. Once he figures out a particular ball, he won't rest till he gets is right, which is why he has such control over his yorker, the knuckle ball and other myriad slower deliveries at the death.His dismissal of Martin Guptill was particularly heart-warming, almost Test match-like in both conception and execution.
Bumrah is the polar opposite of Bhuvi in that he was always a wonderful bowler at the death but was a little expensive at the top. And where Bhuvi has worked on his finishing skills, Bumrah has become a lot more proficient with the new ball. Having added the ball that sha pes away from the right-hander, or at least holds its line, he has started to ask difficult questions with the new ball. B&B have emerged as the fast-bowling pair to beat in global white-ball cricket.
I thought Virat also captained the side beautifully . He was proactive and was always looking to squeeze New Zealand dry . Even when Tom Latham was beginning to look dangerous, he kept six men in the 30-yard circle and cut off the singles. In Mumbai, Latham and Ross Taylor had used the sweep shot with telling results. India made a tactical change by bringing in the faster, flatter Axar Patel instead of the slower, more loopy Kuldeep Yadav. Virat also employed Kedar Jadhav's off-spin generously, having not bowled him in Mumbai. And the lines in Pune were a lot more outside off, compared to the first game when the spinners bowled far too straight.
A target of 231 was never going to test India. Shikhar Dhawan played with characteristic gusto and Dinesh Karthik made the most of his surprise promotion to No. 4 with a fluent half-century , thus setting the stage for a brilliant finale in Kanpur.
Personal life
Marriage with Nupur Nagar
According to media reports, Bhuvi will tie the knot with his fiancée Nupur Nagar on November 23. The couple will get married in a private ceremony in Meerut, which is Bhuvi's hometown. This will then be followed by a reception in Bulandshahr, his wife's hometown, on November 26, the town his wife-to-be hails from. The couple will also host a reception in New Delhi on November 30. Team India members, who will be in Delhi for the Sri Lanka series at the time, will attend the reception.
India are set to host Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series, starting November 16. Bhuvneshwar might miss the second Test beginning of November 24 due to his nuptials. However, there has been no confirmation of the same.
