Bhuvneshwar Kumar claims dismissing Sachin Tendulkar was the turning point of his career

Seasoned Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his international debut in 2012 against Pakistan. The bowling all-rounder is quite effective in hurling inswingers as well as outswingers. His three-wicket haul on his debut against India’s arch-rivals immediately put him into the spotlight. However, the right-arm fast bowler describes his success against batting legend Sachin Tendulkar during the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy final as the turning point of his career.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar recalls his 2008-09 Ranji Trophy campaign

Bhuvneshwar Kumar recently interacted with ESPNCricinfo. In the interview, the pacer spoke about the time he dismissed former Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar for a duck in the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy final. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was only 18 at the time, said people started taking note of his bowling stats from earlier seasons only after he dismissed the batting heavyweight. He described his success against Sachin Tendulkar as a “turning point of his career” because it made other people realise that he had been performing well with the ball. The spotlight landed the pacer an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract through the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2009 and he went on to make his Team India debut two years later as a 21-year old.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar compares himself with MS Dhoni

The Meerut-born seamer also revealed a trait he shares with veteran wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni. He stated that the former Indian captain is someone who concentrates while batting to such an extent that he becomes detached from the result. Bhuvneshwar Kumar added that much like MS Dhoni, he also tries to stick to the process as much as possible.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar on his economical figures against a rampaging Chris Gayle

Bhuvneshwar Kumar represented Pune Warriors in an IPL 2013 match against RCB. During the RCB’s innings, T20 behemoth Chris Gayle clobbered a 66-ball 175 to turbo-charge his side’s score to 263-5 off 20 overs. In spite of Gayle’s blitzkrieg, Kumar returned with stunning figures of 4-0-23-0. Speaking about his economical bowling return, the pacer said that he had identified Chris Gayle’s struggles against him from their past encounters. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar was aware of his teammates leaking runs throughout the innings, he continued to maintain the course of his own plan.

IPL 2020: Bhuvneshwar Kumar in SRH

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been part of the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) since IPL 2014 and is all set to reprise his role in the now-postponed IPL 2020 season. During the IPL 2020 trading and transfer window, the franchise retained the cricketer for ₹8.5 crore ($1.1 million).

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