India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played a vital role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s maiden Indian Premier League title win is determined to contribute in the upcoming edition, particularly in the death overs, reported PTI on Tuesday.
“This year is going to be a challenge because we have done so well last year. So, there is going to be expectations from us. If we don’t deliver, it does not mean we are not good at it or that was a fluke. It’s going to be an added responsibility this year to replicate the same thing,” Kumar said.
Death bowling plays an important role in the success of a team in the Twenty20 format, and Kumar pointed out SRH’s success mantra from last season, “Last year, it was good for us as a bowling unit, as a batting unit as well. If you look particularly at death areas, that was one of the positive things for us. If you want to win the matches in T20 format, you have to bowl really well in last four to five overs and that thing we did really well, including myself, Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman], [Ashish] Nehra and [Barinder] Sran,” he said.
SRH take on a depleted Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener at home. Despite the absence of RCB’s main men, captain Virat Kohli and South African AB de Villiers, Kumar stated that it was no guarantee for success, “Everyone wants to win IPL. But, we know that it’s not going to be easy. Last year wasn’t easy. First match is against RCB. Two, three main players are not playing”
“So, we can take advantage of that. It does not mean that we can win the match. We have to play to our potential to win the match. Hoping for positive things,” the 26-year-old said.
The Meerut-born pacer comes into the tournament on the back of a fine showing against Australia in the series deciding Test at Dharamsala. Despite picking up only two wickets in the game, Kumar’s showing along with pace spearhead Umesh Yadav in the second innings of the match was marked out as one of the key foundations of India’s 8-wicket win.