The third T20I will be played in Wellington on October 27.
Morne Morkel, bowling coach of the Indian team, has talked about the not-so-good return of veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the ongoing T20I series between New Zealand and India. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled his first ball in international cricket after four years in New Zealand.
India has won the first and second T20Is that were played in Christchurch and is 2-0 up in the five-game series. India chased 225 runs in the first innings, in which Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for 49 runs in his four overs.
In the second T20I, where India chased 180 runs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had conceded 50 runs in his four overs, taking one wicket.
Ahead of the third T20I, which will be played in Wellington on October 27, Morne Morkel revealed the message that he gave Bhuvneshwar Kumar, telling him to "not chase anything and just be himself," and urged that he be allowed to find his feet back into the team for a few games.
While talking to reporters about Bhuvneshwar's comeback, Morkel discussed the expectation factor and how much time Bhuvneshwar had to prepare for his return to international cricket after four long years.
"I have got a lot of sympathy for his return. You know, the reason why I say that is that there will be expectations after 4 years to come out. He has done exceptionally well in the IPL; he has bowled really well. One is to block the expectation factor out. Leading into, you know, his selection. I mean, there was a month of cricket where, yes, he trained, but this is a different beast coming and playing international cricket where the margins are small. So, he had to come in with limited training because of the schedule and get himself ready," Morkel said in the pre-match presser.
"So, the skill and, you know, his experience, everything is there, but at the end of the day, you know, you have to respect the game of cricket, and you have to be able to allow him to just find his feet in some of the games. And for me, that has been the message from the start when he joined the squad: you know, do not chase anything, just be you.
You know, yes, there will be expectations, but let us just—every game you will get better, and every game you will find your rhythm. So, let's not think about any outside noises. Just be you and connect with that," he continued.
"That was just purely a tactical sort of change we felt was needed at that venue. It is no secret that Prince, at the death, is bowling his yorkers; he is somebody that executes that quite well, and it was sort of just felt that if we had to bowl second and the ball is wet and, you know, taking into consideration the dimensions of the field, we wanted a guy with a high percentage of nailing the yorkers," he said.
"I felt Mayank bowled really well in that game (the first T20I, conceding 1/40 in four overs), you know, in that first game. So, it is definitely not because of performance (that Mayank sat out). But again, Mayank, for me, I think it is sometimes good for a young boy like that to play a game and give him a little bit of time to reflect and understand bowling because he is still raw and he still needs to understand a lot in terms of how to read and how to set up an over.
So, I think for a young boy, that is not a bad thing. And then Prince, obviously, you know, he can bowl for us again in all phases of the game, and his execution is just slightly higher," he signed off.
(ANI inputs)