Hyderabad: He has been dubbed as Indian cricket’s next big thing and has been one of the leading wicket takers in the IPL. Even when Sunrisers Hyderabad were not performing well, Bhuvi (as he is fondly called) never failed to impress. Talking about his performance in this season, Bhuvi says, “I knew I was in form and I just went on to deliver my best. It’s a great feeling to be the leading wicket taker in IPL.”
Even though big players like Dale Steyn are on his team, Bhuvi has often been asked to open bowling for the team. Talking about it he says, “That is all decided by the team and it depends on the conditions of the place where we are playing. But I have opened for India in international matches too.”
While other cricketers’ personal lives are often hitting headlines, the world still doesn’t know much about Bhuvi. “I’m just concentrating on my game. Way back in 2003, my sister took me to a stadium to watch a match because she knew about my passion for cricket. Ever since that visit, I have dreamt about playing for India. Even when I was playing for UP, my dream was to wear the Indian jersey and play for India. Right now, I’m really enjoying that.”
Bhuvi, has also had many favourite moments this IPL but the one when he got the purple cap tops his list of favourites. “The best thing about this season was that our team did not travel much. We were in the UAE for about 15 days for the first leg of the IPL and then we had a stopover at Hyderabad for 10 days,” he says.
What did they do in Hyderabad? He says, “We didn’t get much time out from all the team events so we mostly stayed back in the hotel and relaxed. We shared experiences, and Dale Steyn and I talked a lot. I have learnt a lot from him.”
Bhuvi is the first bowler to have bowled out Sachin Tendulkar for a duck in first class cricket! And that, was just his 11th first-class game.
We ask Bhuvi to put together his own team of favourite batsmen and bowlers from all over the world. “Best batsmen would be M.S. Dhoni, AB De Villers and Virat Kohli. And bowlers would be Dale Steyn, Brett Lee and Wasim Akram.”
Are there any batsmen that he is scared of, we asked. “I’m not scared of bowling to anyone,” he says confidently.
