Bhuvneshwar Kumar wants to play at the IPL this year and believes every cricketer — even those from other countries — wants to.
“The IPL must happen,” India’s premier swing bowler said on Friday. “The tournament is important for both cricketing and financial reasons.”
He was speaking at a webinar organised jointly by GainAccess Sports & Entertainment and Sportz Power.
Bhuvneshwar, who has 236 international wickets, said he hadn’t expected the situation to be as bad as it turned out to be, following the coronavirus outbreak.
“After the first ODI against South Africa (which was washed out at Dharamshala on March 12), we were scheduled to play the second match at Lucknow, but the entire series was abandoned,” he said.
“I was coming back to the Indian team after a gap of four months, following an injury. I had then thought it (the problem created by the virus) would be soon over.”
It didn’t, unfortunately.
One potential problem the coronavirus created specifically for swing bowlers like him was the ICC’s ban of using saliva on the ball.
“I hope the ICC comes up with some artificial way by which we can shine the ball,” he said. “You need to do it when you bowl in swinging conditions in (places like) England. Even the spinners need it.”
M.C. Mary Kom, the six-time World boxing champion, was also part of the panel. She stressed on the need to be completely fit, even during the lockdown.
“I train every day,” she said. “I keep myself fit though I don’t have all the equipment to train at home.”
Correct decision
Mary said the decision to postpone the Olympics to next year was the correct one. She will be aiming to win her second Olympic medal in Tokyo.
She said women’s boxing had come a long way in India. “I was the only one in London,” she said. “Now four have qualified for Tokyo.”
