Will train during IPL 2021 with England Test series in mind: Bhuvneshwar

Pune: Coming back from a spate of injuries, India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has said that he’s not looking too far ahead but will have this summer’s away Test series against England in mind when he trains during the IPL 2021, as red ball cricket remains his priority.

Bhuvneshwar, who has had a lot of injury issues since the 2019 World Cup, picked six scalps and was the team’s second highest wicket-taker in the three-match ODI series against England, which India won by 2-1.

“Whatever preparation happens from my side will happen with red-ball cricket in mind. That’s different from what will happen in team selections, but my training and workload during the IPL will happen with Test cricket in mind. I want to play Test cricket going forward,” Bhuvneshwar said during a virtual press conference.

The pacer’s tryst with injuries isn’t new. He has missed a lot matches for India and his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last few years.

“I don’t decide on the long term future. Whenever I have in the past, things haven’t gone my way, whether it’s due to injury or form. Workload management is something I will focus on and the team management also tries and does its best,” said Bhuvneshwar.

“I was unfit for a long time, so I realized that fitness is something I have to maintain if I want to play regular cricket. I know that there’s an England tour in front along with other series, so I will try to keep myself fit,” he added.

Asked if he achieved what he wanted to in these white-ball games on return, the pacer said, “Yes and no I got what I wanted in these games, but there’s always something to improve on, like it could be variations or fitness.”

“As a team what we wanted to get, what we wanted to achieve, we got it. If you ask me individually, there’s always something... could be variations, or the knuckle ball that I’ve been wanting to improve,” he added. (UNI)