A genial pacer with fire in his eyes

Newlands: From afar, perhaps, it doesn’t look like Mukesh Kumar fits the bill of an Indian cricketer - he doesn’t have that air about him. Upon closer inspection, though, you can tell that he has a little something about him - it’s in his eyes: fire. 

That would explain how a 30-year-old, whose bowling can at best be described as genial, has made it to the Indian Test side. 

Of course, the injury to Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur’s failure in the opening Test facilitated Mukesh’s entry to the side for the second Test, but he looked so good when he did get the chance that the management might consider a longer rope for him. 

He finished with four wickets for 56 runs at Newlands. That, however, is not the impressive bit. When he was brought on, Mukesh showed that he could move the ball both ways without a discerning change in action. 

Also, his action is very repeatable, meaning he is good for long spells. He picked it up while operating medium pace in Bihar and subsequently for Bengal in first-class cricket. 

Mukesh's late father, a cab driver in Kolkata, wanted the pacer to join the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force), but he failed to clear the physical test. Naturally, he chose to pursue tennis ball cricket seriously.

As he traversed the streets without much in his pocket, Mukesh was eventually spotted by former Bengal pacer Ranadeb Bose.

"Ranadeb Bose has immense contribution to my development as a fast bowler. The coaches at NCA and him (Bose) are people I fall back upon if I face any technical issues with my bowling,” said Mukesh. 

"Patience and process were two aspects that I always concentrated upon. Also, all tips given by my coaches from formative years have come in handy," he said.

That education Mukesh received on not-so-favourable pitches in India helped him understand the nuance of his craft. So, when he was given a juicy strip - such as the one in Newlands - he was chuffed, but not carried away. 

"There's a lot of difference between bowling on these kinds of tracks compared to Indian pitches," said Mukesh. "In India, when you try to bowl fuller length the ball moves in the air, but here, if you try to bowl too full, you get smashed.

"So we decided that we will bowl between six to eight-metre length. And since there is a lot of bounce on offer you can get wickets.”

This revelation occurred when Mukesh was bowling to the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma at the ‘nets’ in Centurion. India had lost the Test in three days so they decided to have an optional session on what was supposed to be the fifth day. 

“…he always tells us about areas to bowl when we seek feedback in the nets. They would tell us 'if you pitch the ball in this particular length and channel you can trouble us’,” said Mukesh when asked about his conversations with Rohit. 

In less than a year since making his international debut, Mukesh has gone on to play 11 Twenty20 Internationals, six One-Day Internationals and a couple of Tests. That’s fairly prolific for someone who wasn’t even supposed to be there.

When asked about his rise and about the challenges of playing all the formats, he said: “I have been able to fulfil the role assigned by the team management. When you play for the country, you need to adapt and adjust to various formats. If you are playing white ball and need to play Test matches after that, then you also simultaneously need to practice with red ball.”

Mukesh made it sound so simple that it felt silly to even ask. That’s when you realise why he’s made it this far: basics.