Veteran Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has expressed confidence in bowlers’ ability to control games in the shortest format, despite the recent trend of T20 cricket heavily favouring batters.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after the third T20I against New Zealand in Wellington, Bhuvneshwar Kumar stated that bowlers can still make a difference by focusing on their line and length, as they have control over where they pitch the ball.
“This is a debatable question. We say that the conditions favour the batters nowadays and all that, but I still believe that a bowler can control the game. The reason is that we feed the ball to the batter. I know that the margin of error is very low, which we generally talk about. But still, a bowler can land the ball wherever he wants to. I strongly believe that a bowler can control the game,” Bhuvneshwar Kumar said.
“There are small boundaries. Everything is given to the batters. But still, a bowler is the one who feeds the ball to the batter. Then it’s up to the batter what he wants to play, whether he wants to play according to the ball or not. But still, if you look at the good bowlers, they are still doing well. They are consistent. Even if the game is not equal, the bowler adapts quickly,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar concluded by highlighting the fearless approach of modern-day batters, stating that they no longer ease off after scoring runs early in an over. Instead, they look to attack every delivery, regardless of how many runs they have already scored. He has featured in all three matches of the ongoing T20I series for India but has managed just one wicket at an average of 139 and an economy rate of 11.58.
“Earlier, somewhere there was a thinking that as runs have come in the first couple of balls, let’s go easy in the remaining over. But now it is not like that. Batters are looking to hit every ball. There is one ball. There are two balls. There are six balls. Credit should be given to this generation for playing fearlessly,” he concluded.
