IPL 2021 | Had to work on my consistency and the management backed me, insists Ravi Bishnoi

It was a shock when Punjab Kings had opted to bench Ravi Bishnoi for the Mumbai leg of the tournament, considering how the leg-spinner had performed in the Middle East throughout the last season. However, in the Chennai leg, after missing out on the first game against SRH, the leg-spinner made his return into the setup against Mumbai. 

In just his first game this season, Bishnoi picked up figures of 2/21, as his bowling helped Punjab restrict Mumbai to a low total. In the post-match press conference, the Rajasthan spinner insisted that he had to work on his consistency and hailed the ‘backing’ from the management throughout that phase. 

“There were one-two things to work on, work on my consistency. They backed me consistently and wanted me to work on my bowling to do well for the team. The management also was clear that I would get chances in the tournament, so I did wait for the chances,” Bishnoi admitted in the post-match press conference. 

On a slow and sticky surface, the leg-spinner admitted that his aim was to attack the stumps and making life difficult for the batsmen. Bishnoi picked up the crucial wickets of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, helping Punjab restrict Mumbai to just 131.

“My only aim was to bowl wicket-to-wicket, given that the pitch was offering some help for the spinners. I wanted the deliveries to end on the wicket, inside the line of the stump as it was difficult to hit from that zone.” 

Bishnoi also credited KL Rahul and the management for backing him all the way, adding that it felt nice to be getting the opportunity to play in such quality games. He also added that he was never fazed about how the batsmen would respond and wanted to stick by his plans. 

“It feels really nice when the captain and the entire management team back you. When you get to bowl or bat in difficult situations and you deliver, it becomes very good for you. My only focus was to keep it tight and never thought about the batsman and what shots he would play. I just wanted to keep it in the zone and make it difficult for them to hit me.”