Bhuvneshwar Kumar is now a renowned Indian medium-fast bowler. But he first shot to fame during an Uttar Pradesh-Mumbai Ranji Trophy encounter during the 2008-09 season when the then youngster got the legendary Sachin Tendulkar dismissed without scoring for the very first time at the domestic level.
It was an inswinger, Bhuvneshwar recalled, that had the Master Blaster caught a slightly deep bat-pad position, which instantly got him media and public attention, and also under notice of the national selectors as less than four years later, he wore an India cap for the very first time.
"When he came to bat, from the dressing room to the ground, I was at the bowling mark. I was watching him, and I couldn't keep my eyes away from him," Bhuvneshwar told Cricbuzz.
"Even after getting him out I couldn't believe it. It was fine that I got a batsman out but when I left the ground then I realised (that I got Sachin Tendulkar out). Even when it came in the news the next day - that's when I realised I had done a big thing."
"Now, if I rewind my life, whatever started in my life was after that. It was an achievement to get him out, and I came into people's notice. They were asking, 'who is he, what did he do?' So whatever I had performed before that, all that came into the limelight suddenly."
Bhuvneshwar made his limited-overs debut against Pakistan in 2012 and less than six months later, received his maiden Test call-up for the home series against Australia where his early breakthroughs played their part in enabling India's 4-0 whitewash.
The 30-year-old, however, got really tested when he visited England the following year and bowled brilliantly for the first half of the five-Test series, India's first in 12 years back then, before his performances dipped after being drained out. That forced him to work extra hard on his fitness regime and become a more robust cricketer.
"Everyone knows that in India we don't have the best conditions for fast bowlers," he said. "So everyone was hopeful that in England especially, the ball swings. It was my first series (away), and everyone had high hopes. Even me. When you play in England where it swings...I thought 'I'll do this, I'll do that'."
"And, that happened too (but I also) learnt a lot of things. Because it was a five-match series, how to manage it, how to navigate the fatigue (was important). After three matches I was out of fuel. I had never played such a big series before."
For a while, as he strived to become a quicker bowler, Bhuvneshwar lost a bit of his swing. However, he soon balanced that out and even enhanced his skillset as a limited-overs paceman, especially at the death, which was evident when he bagged the purple cap for the IPL 2016 and 2017.
"If you have a limited pace and swing, batsmen begin to adjust to it," he said. "Then, I started giving out runs, after which the time to change something had come. I felt I needed to increase my pace. It also happened that I got injured and it took time to come back from it. My bowling didn't have that rhythm, things weren't going too well."
"But then, I started training, and tried to change it around. That training helped me. Unknowingly, my pace increased. But I struggled for 1-2 series, because with that pace, I wasn't used to bowling with it," Bhuvneshwar added. "So, the ball wouldn't swing. When I wasn't used to it, the body took too much load. There were a few injuries and niggles. But when I got my off time things began to work out slowly."
"Absolutely, there was (fear)," he admitted. "Generally, you believe in yourself. But when you start listening to what people are saying, you can try to ignore it but it will eventually reach your ears. That 'he's lost his swing, now he's going towards pace'. But you (also) know inside, what you are getting out of. Fortunately, I was able to emerge from that."
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
