India’s fast bowling coach Morne Morkel has backed veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who hasn’t been able to make a desired comeback to international cricket after four years. Bhuvneshwar had earned his comeback on the back of performances in two consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) title-winning seasons for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). But he has managed to take just one wicket and conceded 99 runs from eight overs in the first two T20Is of the series played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
Morkel says he's got sympathy for Bhuvneshwar considering the burden of expectations on him after a long absence from international cricket. He feels Bhuvneshwar has had limited amounts of training to get himself ready for international cricket. He wants the 36-year-old to block out expectations and focus on the process.
"Look, I've got a lot of sympathy for his return," Morkel said at a press conference ahead of the third T20I, to be played on Tuesday. "The reason why I say that is, one, there will be expectation after four years to come out. He's done exceptionally well in the IPL. He's bowled really well. One is to block the expectation factor out.
"Two, leading into 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 to get himself ready."
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Bhuvneshwar overstepped thrice in first two T20Is
In the first T20I, Bhuvneshwar bowled four overs, conceded 49 runs, and remained wicketless. He bowled two no-balls as well. Only Axar Patel conceded more runs than he did in the high-scoring encounter.
In the second T20I, he dismissed Daryl Mitchell with the new ball. But he couldn't finish well. He bowled a no-ball again. He finished his spell by conceding a six. He went for 50 runs in his quota of four overs.
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Morkel doesn’t want Bhuvi to chase anything
Morkel acknowledges the skill and experience Bhuvneshwar possesses. He wants the pacer to respect the game, manage expectations, and just be himself.
"So the skill and his experience, everything is there. But at the end of the day, we 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," Morkel said.
"And for me, that has been the message from the start when he joined the squad, is to, you know, don't chase anything. Just be you. Yes, there will be expectations. But just every game you'll get better, and every game you'll find your rhythm. So let's not think about any outside noises. Just be you and connect with that."
How did Bhuvneshwar perform in Wellington 7 years ago?
The second T20I is scheduled to be played at Hnry Stadium, Wellington, on October 27. The last time he played a T20I in Wellington was in February 2019. He conceded 47 runs from four overs, and his only wicket was Ross Taylor.
Which Yadav will play in 3rd T20I?
In the first T20I, captain Shreyas Iyer and team management picked Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav. Mayank generated extra pace and got the wicket of Tim Seifert with the new ball. He did not finish well but was still the joint-most economical bowler in the high-scoring game. Daryl's catch was dropped off his bowling too. He conceded 40 runs from his quota of four overs.
In the second T20I, Prince played ahead of Mayank and took the wicket of Finn Allen as the first-change bowler. He was economical, as he conceded 30 runs from four overs. Ahead of the third T20I, Morkel explains why Prince replaced Mayank in the side. He also hinted at who will play in the third T20I.
"That was just purely a tactical sort of change we felt was needed at that venue," Morkel said. "It's no secret that Prince, at the death first, bowling his yorkers, he's somebody that executes that quite well. And it was sort of just felt that if we - the learnings from the game one - had to bowl second and the ball is wet, and, you know, taking into consideration the dimensions of the field, to be one of the guys with a high percentage of nailing the yorkers.
"I felt Mayank bowled really well in that first game. So it's definitely not because of performance. But again, Mayank, for me, I think it's sometimes good for a young boy like that to play a game, give him a little bit of time to reflect, understand bowling, because he's 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, I'd say that's not a bad thing.
"And then Prince, obviously, you know, he can bowl fast, again, in all phases of the game. And his execution is just slightly higher."
No Kishan in 3rd T20I
Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the third T20I. He is yet to recover fully from a low grade right adductor strain he sustained in the series opener. Kumar Kushagra will continue to be with the squad as a back-up wicketkeeper-batter. It is yet to be seen whether Vaibhav Sooryavanshi bats at no.3 instead of opening or Shivam Dube gets a place in the side. Skipper Iyer, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir are capable of batting at no.3. It will be a big call if Kushagra gets to make his T20I debut.
India vs New Zealand squad for 3rd T20I -
New Zealand Squad: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Blair Tickner, Matthew Fisher, Devon Conway.
India Squad: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kumar Kushagra, Mayank Yadav.