Bhuvneshwar Kumar was always our second pacer, says Bharat Arun

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has always been our choice for being Jasprit Bumrah's bowling partner, says India's bowling coach Bharat Arun, on questions whether Shami should have been the second pacer instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

While Mohammed Shami played the bulk of the matches across formats as Bumrah's new ball partner, a lot of eyebrows were raised when Shami was dropped in favor of the UP pacer.

"I think in the first place it was always Bumrah and Bhuvi even before the start of the tournament," Arun said during an interaction at the mixed zone.

"Because considering the English conditions, Bhuvi is a good option as he moves the ball around pretty well and is good at the death too. They were always the first two choices.

"Yes, he (Shami) will have his chances in the tournament and once you are in the team, you have got to wait for your chances and grab onto the opportunities that come your way," the bowling coach had words of encouragement for the Bengal pacer.

Jasprit Bumrah has now been India's primary weapon and Arun feels that it is a dream to have an asset like him. "It's a dream to have a bowler like Bumrah. He is probably one of the best in the world -- both at the start as well as at the death. My job is to remind them about plans and what they have done in the past," he said.

He was happy that the team executed the plan against David Warner perfectly as he didn't get a single delivery to play the cut shot.

"The plan was to not give Warner any width and take the pace away from the ball. I thought they executed the plan well."
Kuldeep Yadav seemed to be rediscovering himself after a horrendous IPL and Arun said all he did prior to the start of the tournament was remind the young left-arm wrist spinner about the things that got him success in the first place.

"Every bowler goes through a phase where they have a rough patch just like an out-of-form batsman. My job was to remind him and show him all the good things that he had done in the past.

"Sometimes, they tend to move away from basics and you need to show them what made them successful so that they can get back to their own self," the coach said.

With inputs from PTI

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