Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played a key role in India’s ODI series win over England, on Sunday (March 28) expressed his desire to play Test cricket and thus his workload management in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) would be done keeping this fact in mind.
The right-arm seamer claimed 6 wickets in three ODIs against England, including the figures of 3/42 in the decider which helped the hosts to clinch the series 2-1.
"I do not think about the future. I do not think about the long-term. It has happened in the past that when I have thought about long-term plans, things have not gone my way, even if it's because of injury or form. Workload management will be on my mind. The management also tries to manage the workload of every player. I was unfit for a very long time, it's on my mind that the England tour and a few important series are coming up so I will try to stay fit," Bhuvneshwar said during a virtual press conference after India’s 7-run victory in the third ODI.
"I have not ruled out red-ball cricket. My preparation would also keep the red-ball format in mind. It is a different matter as to what happens in Test selection. Workload management in IPL would keep red-ball cricket in mind. I want to play Tests, so I will try to stay ready for the longest format," he added.
Talking about his comeback in the limited-overs series against England, Bhuvneshwar said: "There is always something you can improve on. Like it could be variations or fitness, so yes, being a team we want to improve. If you ask individually, there is always something to get better at."
"Before the series started, we talked about how England plays their cricket. They can get out early sometimes or they can go big. It was on our mind what sort of cricket would be in store. There was nothing different in our team culture, everyone is committed to the fitness bit, every youngster who is coming in, is highly motivated in staying fit," he further remarked.
Shardul Thakur was another star performer with the ball for India in the ODI series against England. He picked up 7 wickets from three ODIs, including 4/67 in the series decider.
Commenting on Shardul Thakur's performance in the last ODI, Bhuvneshwar said: "He performed well today. He came in as a second change. It was a batting wicket then. If you ask me, Shardul changed the match as he took wickets during the middle overs. The work that is done by spinners, that was done by Shardul today."
"Shardul has improved both his batting and bowling. Every team wants each player to contribute. You can see his game has improved quite a bit. The kind of performances he has given, you can see how much he has improved," he continued.
Coming to the match, India piled up 329/10 in 48.2 overs on the back of half-centuries from Rishabh Pant (78 off 62 balls), Shikhar Dhawan (67 off 56 balls) and Hardik Pandya (64 off 44 balls).
In reply, England were reeling at 200/7 at one stage before Sam Curran turned the match on its head with a valiant knock of 83-ball 95*. He added 57 runs for the 8th wicket with Adil Rashid (19) and followed it with a 60-run stand with Mark Wood (14).
Needing 14 runs in the final over, Wood got run out on the first delivery while T Natarajan conceded only 6 runs to restrict the visitors to 322/9 in 50 overs.
(With ANI inputs)
