Leader of Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) bowling attack, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, said while variations come to good use, it isn't necessary that a bowler must keep adding them into his arsenal.
Ahead of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE, starting September 19, the pacer said understanding the value of your natural strengths is equally important.
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"I have definitely changed as a bowler in the last few years. Most importantly I have gained experience from playing, have learnt variations," Bhuvneswar told the IPL website.
"I don't think it is always about keep adding to your arsenal, it is also about being good at what you do."
Bhuvneshwar said it augurs well for Sunrisers, the 2016 champions, that their main bowlers have been together for a while.
"Being a senior bowler my approach will be similar as it has been for past couple of years. I'll try to help and share my experience," he said.
"The good thing about this bowling group is that we are playing together for the last 2-3 years so we understand each other pretty well. It makes things easier for a captain or senior bowler like me."
Considering that Sunrisers have generally favoured a three-man pace attack plus the spin or pace bowling all-rounder, Rashid Khan's role as the single specialist spinner in the line-up becomes doubly important.
"Rashid has been amazing in this format all over the world. He has been playing in different league, performing consistently and having him in the mix is always a delight for any team," said Bhuvneshwar. "Not just with the ball, he has been amazing with the bat as well. So yes he is an asset to any team."
The tournament will be Bhuvneshwar's first competitive assignment after surgery for sports hernia late last year. Before that, the pacer struggled with a shoulder injury in 2018 and then a hamstring injury affected him through most of 2019, including the 50-over World Cup in the UK.
"It's great to be back, personally I have been away from this game for a while, first I was injured and then this pandemic and lockdown. I am pretty excited about IPL. I cannot wait to get back in action," said the 30-year-old experienced quick.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced authorities to first suspend the IPL 2020 from its original window in April-May and then shift outside to UAE in a new slot in the calendar. The health crisis, however, will mean that the tournament is mostly still played without any fan-presence in stadiums.
Bhuvneshwar, though, is just glad that it is actually kickstarting, which at the start of the outbreak seemed unlikely, and said that the players will miss the crowd support in India.
"I don't think there could be a better tournament than IPL in India to start off with cricket and I am sure it will bring joy to the people of India."
"Definitely, I am going to miss playing in India especially in front of our home crowd, they have been supporting us for many years, I feel they are one of the major motivating factors for us," he concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
