Was working on becoming better version of myself during lockdown, reveals Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Was working on becoming better version of myself during lockdown, reveals Bhuvneshwar Kumar

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar has stated that he has been working hard on his fitness during the lockdown and hopes to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic as a fitter version of himself. He also spoke about the mental aspect of the game and stated that it gets tough for him during injuries to kill time.

Covid-19, unexpectedly, threw the world in a panic, and cricketers were no different as they were not in a position to go through their regular training routines. Now, with the IPL 2020 set to begin on September 19, cricketers have to stay match-fit to represent their respective franchises. Especially bowlers have to stay on top of their fitness as they resume playing. Bhuvneshwar Kumar shared that he had got all the exercise equipment at home soon after the lockdown was announced and he has been working to come out of this pandemic as a better version of himself.   

“I was very motivated for the first 15 days of the lockdown. No one knew how long it would last and I didn't have any equipment to exercise at home either. I did bodyweight workouts to keep myself fit. But after 15 days, I started finding it difficult to motivate myself. I then ordered equipment at home and things have improved since. We, or I rather, generally give excuses that I don't have enough time to improve my fitness given we end up playing so many matches. So I am working on coming out of this lockdown as a better version of myself,” Kumar said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo. 

The SRH pacer has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career. In fact, he was out of the Indian team for a good part of last year due to injuries, the last one of which was sports hernia. Kumar gave insights on his recovery process and stated that he does not stop bowling even when he is injured, which keeps his body accustomed to his bowling action. He also spoke about the mental strain that the injury had on him and revealed that it got frustrating for him during the rehabilitation to kill time. 

“Generally, when I come back from an injury, I have some niggle or the other. If I keep bowling and get my body used to that rhythm, I stay fine. In the last couple of years, it has happened with me a few times that when I took a break from playing for two or three weeks, I had some niggle or the other on return. I worked on that as well. Whenever I took a break from playing, I didn't stop bowling. I may rotate my arms at home or bend my back to ensure that my body is used to the bowling action,” the UP speedster said. 

“When you go to the NCA, your rehab work lasts only for a couple of hours in the day. The rest of the day is when you start feeling frustrated. I remember before the lockdown I was at the NCA, and the last one month there was a tough period. Somehow, I used to stretch my time training at the academy for up to three hours, but after returning to the hotel, it was difficult to kill time.”

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