1. The Rise of Bhuvneshwar Kumar by Cricket
today
in Sports / Extreme Sports (submitted 2014-08-05)
In January 12, 2009, Sreeram Veera, who covered the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and
Uttar Pradesh for Cricinfo, wrote this in his report:
€Save it in your fancy phone or write it down somewhere... It's certain to come up in a trivia quiz
years later or win you a bet and an extra drink in some noisy bar. Who was the bowler who
handed Sachin Tendulkar his first duck in Indian domestic cricket?€
Those who used to follow Ranji Trophy cricket had already been familiar with his name. He had
played some match-defining innings lower down the order and produced some fruitful bowling
spells in helpful tracks. But Tendulkar's wicket, which came after he had bowled 13 dot balls to
the master, propelled his name to the collective memory of the Indian cricket fandom. If he got
Sachin, he must be good - went the common refrain. Five years later, he achieved what every fast
bowler dreams about: a five wicket haul at the Lord's. Not only that, he played a vital hand in
India's first triumph in Lord's in three decades and the team's first overseas win in three years, as
he scored fighting fifties in both the innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's journey from a hard day's
toil at Uttar Pradesh's dusty grounds under the hot sun to the hallowed turf in the Lord's' cool
climes is an eventful one. He had to battle middle-class life's miseries as well as Indian cricket
system's concrete perceptions. Here is an inspiring travelogue of that rags-to-riches journey.
Born and brought up in Meerut
He was born in Meerut, a rustic town in Western Uttar Pradesh, known for its sports good
manufacturing industry and specially made scissors. He was born in 1990, a year after Tendulkar
made his debut. At that time in sports, Meerut was known more for its indigenous wrestlers than
for international cricketers. He was born in the warrior tribe of Gurjar; his father was a
policeman and mother housewife. He has the looks of a studious student even at that age. But
studies did not interest him; but cricket did. Like most cricket crazy boys in India, he dashed to
the ground at the slightest opportunity. Like most cricket crazy boys in India, he studies began to
stutter. He would have ended up in the motor workshops or factories in Meerut just like the other
students with low grades, had it not been for the intervention of the other member in his family -
his sister. She saw something in Bhuvneshwar Kumar's cricket that almost all others failed to
notice. She convinced their parents to take steps to nurture his younger brother's talent. They
decided to bet on Bhuvneshwar's cricket. They could not arrange proper coaching for him, but
they helped him to get membership in a prominent local club. He was meandering along the
borderline between success and failure, when he decided to appear for the trials of Under-19
team of Uttar Pradesh. He was selected, and his life reached a new destination.
Travels in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh has contributed some powerful personalities to Indian politics. But there have not

2. been too many great cricketers from the state. It is not a cricketing powerhouse in the Ranji
Trophy circuit either, like Mumbai and Tamil Nadu. It was not difficult for Kumar to earn his
spot in the Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy team. Another Kumar from Meerut had already been
doing a great job in Ranji Trophy - Praveen Kumar. Fortunately for Bhuvneshwar, Ashish
Winston Zaidi, a former fast bowler, was coaching the Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy team then.
Zaidi never played for India. But he managed to get truckloads of Ranji Trophy wickets. In fact,
he is 14th in the list of the highest wicket takers in Ranji Trophy. Among pace bowlers, only
Madan Lal has taken more wickets than him. Both Praveen Kumar and Zaidi nurtured Kumar.
They understood his strengths: he could swing the new ball. They understood his weaknesses
too: that he could operate only at 120-130 kmph mark. Wisely, they did not try to rectify his
weakness. They never tried to make his bowl quicker. Perhaps, they had seen what happened to
Irfan Pathan, who used to produce outrageous swing; but lost it when he tried to bowl quicker.
As experienced bowlers, they knew that swing bowlers do not need express pace. They plot the
downfall of the batsman with their wile and skill. In the formative years, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
was a natural in-swing bowler. Praveen and Zaidi taught him to bowl out-swing without any
noticeable changes in the action. He would keep in-swing balls as his stock delivery and resort to
out-swing to surprise the batsmen. That had been a method Praveen Kumar tried and tested.
Bhuvneshwar would perfect it later. When Praveen Kumar went to International duty,
Bhuvneshwar assumed the leadership of the Uttar Pradesh attack. He flourished as an opening
bowler. Domestic batmen began to talk about the other Kumar from Uttar Pradesh too. And his
batting was a real plus. He used to come at six or seven and score a composed 40 or 50. Once he
even scored a match-winning century in the Duleep Trophy semi final, after coming into bat at
number eight.
Battle against perception
With some good performances with both bat and ball, he became a vital cog in the Uttar Pradesh
and North Zone teams. But tougher battles were awaiting him. He had been seen as someone
who was good enough for domestic cricket, but not quite good for international cricket. You
know such lot. They were, and still are, stuck in that rat trap of perception. Zaidi was one;
Kanwaljit Singh was another. Subramaniam Badrinath is a current example. Even MS Dhoni,
had he not been a wicketkeeper, may have found himself in this trap. Bhuvneshwar was tailor-
made to become a victim of this perception. He was a fast bowler who looked like an IIT
student: skinny, medium height, no muscles, no broad shoulders, and not quick enough. Even
spinners had better physique. Such fast bowlers tend to toil day in, day out in domestic cricket
and disappear one day silently.
Cricket statistics screamed for his selection; but his vital statistics suggested otherwise. We will
never know what kept him going in spite of such widely prevalent perception in Indian cricket.
Perhaps, Anil Kumble may have inspired him. In his early days, cricket experts had dismissed
Kumble as a fast bowler with a spinner's action. But Kumble now practically owns all the
bowling records in India.
Criss-crossing Indian cricket

3. The next destination - a place in the Indian team - appeared distant for Bhuvneshwar. But he kept
doing the same thing again and again: taking wickets and scoring runs, without any drastic
changes in his bowling or batting technique. Have you seen Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the field
from the stadium? He comes across as an eager player to get involved in action. He is always
fully focused on the match. He rarely acknowledges the crowd's clapping and chants. He never
shows any antics to entertain the crowd. He appears earnest and humble. If you do not know him,
you might even think that he is a local club player who is on the field as a convenient substitute.
Nothing in his body language or demeanour reveals a killer instinct that is needed to succeed at
international level. But when he has new ball in his hands, he is a different proposition. He
makes the batsmen appear blind. They defend for the in-swinger; the ball would go away to the
keeper. They leave for the out-swinger; the ball would come in, hitting the pads. And with the
bat, he is Rahul Dravid - calm and composed. Fast bowlers tend to hit out when they bat, but not
him. You see, he is not the kind that fits the popular perception.
A new peak - A place in the Indian team
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was languishing at the bottom of the pecking order of Indian pacers,
despite his impressive performances in domestic cricket. His lack of pace made too many people
doubtful of his credentials. Then many things happened, which left the selectors with no other
choice than trying him out. Zaheer Khan was over the hill, Sreesanth was banned, Irfan Pathan
was out of form, Ashish Nehra and RP Singh appeared burned out, an
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