Whatever started in my life was after dismissing Sachin Tendulkar, rewinds Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has stated that him dismissing Sachin Tendulkar in the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy was the turning point of his career as people started noticing him. The pacer has further added that he realised the magnitude of it after seeing that on news on the next day of dismissing the Mumbaikar.
Despite not being the fastest bowler around, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who operates mostly in the 130 kph range, has the ability to take the ball into the right-hander in a prodigious fashion pretty much like his city mate Praveen Kumar used to do in his heyday. That ability was on show in late 2012 when he bowled Nasir Jamshed with his first ODI delivery.Â
However, his claim to fame was to be the 2008-2009 season of the Ranji Trophy when, as an 18-year-old, he dismissed Sachin Tendulkar for a duck, which happened to be the legendary batsman’s first zero in domestic cricket. The magnificence of the occasion was humongous for the Meerut-born pacer and he only realised it when he saw the news the next day, as he revealed on Cricbuzz’s Spicy Pitch show.
"When he came to bat, from the dressing room to the ground, I was at the bowling mark. I was watching him, and I couldn't keep my eyes away from him. Even after getting him out I couldn't believe it. It was fine that I got a batsman out but when I left the ground then I realised (that I got Sachin Tendulkar out). Even when it came in the news the next day - that's when I realised I had done a big thing,” Bhuvneshwar said.
"Now, if I rewind my life, whatever started in my life was after that. It was an achievement to get him out, and I came into people's notice. They were asking, 'who is he, what did he do?' So whatever I had performed before that, all that came into the limelight suddenly."
On the back of that and some eye-catching performances in domestic cricket, the pacer was selected for India’s home series against Pakistan. He made his Test debut in England a couple of months later, where he returned with 19 wickets that included a couple of fifers, but India suffered a 3-1 defeat. But he added that too much of experiment on his bowling resulted in the soft-spoken and mild pacer being out of fuel after three games.
"Everyone knows that in India we don't have the best conditions for fast bowlers. So everyone was hopeful that in England especially, the ball swings. It was my first series, and everyone had high hopes. Even me. When you play in England where it swings...I thought 'I'll do this, I'll do that'. And, that happened too (but I also) learnt a lot of things. Because it was a five-match series, how to manage it, how to navigate the fatigue (was important). After three matches I was out of fuel. I had never played such a big series before,” the 30-year-old added.