Of pride and pressure

Staying calm

What’s good about Uttar Pradesh’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar is that he sticks to the basics of cricket and experiments within that fold, rather than coming up with something innovative. He is perhaps one of the youngest members of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team and in a short time, he has proved that he has exceptional capabilities when it comes to both batting and bowling. He has enjoyed the whole IPL experience and says that he is proud to be playing for the country and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

He took to cricket as a child and cricket it was, all through school and college. “I worked really hard during high school and in college. After excelling at the state level, I couldn’t hold back my eagerness to play for the nation. The IPL offers a different experience quite unlike what I’ve witnessed before,” says Bhuvneshwar.   He adds that while his parents supported him, his father always asked him to strike a balance between academics and cricket. “But I did well in cricket and couldn’t give as much attention to my academics,” he says. 

Although he seems to be the shy kind, he has made a conscious effort to break free from that mould and mingle with the cricketers from different teams.

 “When we are not playing cricket, we try to explore the City. Most of the foreign players in the team are always curious about the food, so if we are in South of the country, I introduce them to the different varieties of ‘dosa’ and explain to them why ‘idli and sambar’ is a must-try,” he says. And if they are playing somewhere up north or in Hyderabad, Bhuvneshwar treats them to some spicy ‘biryani’ or ‘rotis’.

  Bhuvneshwar feels the IPL also gives Indian cricketers a chance to learn more about the foreign players in the team, including their lifestyle. He confesses that a few of the foreign cricketers have asked him to teach them one or two Indian languages. “It’s a mutual effort. Not only do we try to pick up bits and pieces of each other’s languages, but we try and understand each other’s culture and food habits,” he shares.

Ask him how he handles the pressure and stress during the matches? Bhuvneshwar explains, “There’s a feeling of both pride and pressure whenever there’s a game. I try to keep my calm as much as possible because it doesn’t help to get worked up,” he signs off.