I rely on swing to get wickets, and I continue to do it that way. I have never tried to copy others.
— Bhuvneshwar Kumar
IPL is something... it's where we polish our skills and be in form, but ODI and T20I are totally different.
The first thing that comes to the mind when you are touring South Africa is bouncy wickets. But that is no surety of what kind of pitch you would get in the game.
That's how you win matches - bowling in pairs.
As a bowling unit, you get a lot of confidence if the spinners and pacers are bowling as a team.
If you bowl well early in the innings, it is also important to finish well.
Preparation goes on even when you are out of the team, as you can do it anywhere.
The way I am bowling at the death, it's all thanks to the IPL.
I never think that I have to be at top every time. Obviously, I have to do well in every game and series; that's what I try to do. I try to improve and work on the swing and variation in my bowling.
How you practice in nets matters a lot.
It is never easy to switch between formats, but it is all about practice and preparation.
T20 cricket is all about using variations, and timing has to be perfect.
IPL is such a tournament that you end up knowing about the strengths and weaknesses of everyone because you are playing with so many people in the same side.
MS has always been a bowler's captain.
Swing is my main weapon.
When I began, I was more of a swing bowler with little pace, but I realized it will be difficult to sustain without the pace, so my fitness has now allowed me maybe an extra yard of pace. That has been the secret of my success.
I only have a family pack; never really felt the need for abs or something like that because, to my mind, being fit in terms of cricket is far more important than anything.
I am here to play cricket. No preferences at all. T20, ODI, Test - I just want to perform on every stage and prove my worth as a good bowler.
You want to be consistent, and for that, you want to be fit.
As a bowler, there are times when you do not get wickets, and you don't have the numbers to show against your name. But never has the thought crossed my mind that I am not a confident bowler and the wickets are not coming my way.
When you create pressure in the previous over for your partner to strike, it is sometimes as satisfying as picking up a wicket yourself.
I used to bowl a lot at the death while bowling in the IPL, but it serves as a confidence booster that I can do a lot more with the ball at the start of the innings and at the death.
I have tried to improve on my death bowling.
It's most difficult to bowl with wet ball.
It was always a dream to play Test for India, and I was very happy when I got my first wicket.
I think in T20, things are related to pressure, and if you handle it well, you are on top of your game. I think about process and not too much about results.
I have batted well in Tests and always wanted to do well in ODIs, too.
T20 is such a format that finishes quickly, and you only have four overs. If there are three bad balls in one over, you will go for runs, and your whole analysis suffers. The team is on back foot because of three balls. So each and every ball becomes very important. It makes the bowler think.
I have natural talent when it comes to batting.
Shankar Basu introduced me to a different type of training that eventually helped me increase my pace. That, in turn, went on to help me bowl at the death, too.
If you think like a batsman, you have an upper-hand over the man you're bowling to.
As a new ball bowler, it's my job to stick to the basics.
We all know just bowling won't do in modern international cricket, and we have to contribute with the bat and as a fielder, too.
In my mind, I work out situations. Like, how I should play if I bat for four overs, or how should I approach myself if its 10 overs. These are things I work at the nets.
The Kookaburra is the toughest ball to bowl with.
If there is someone who is able to swing the ball, I believe I have it in me to swing it a bit more than the other bowlers.
As bowlers, we don't worry about the wickets, whether they are flat or not.
Being a swing bowler, bowling at the death is just an added facet in my bowling.
T20 is a game where you must expect the unexpected.
You need an over to get your confidence going.
We all know that spinners dominate in Indian conditions, so it's good if medium pacers can get at least two wickets.
If you bowl good yorkers in nets and come up with good variation, it helps your on-field performance.
Bumrah has a different action, which creates problems for the batsmen. He has improved a lot of things with his action. He had these yorkers, and slower ones earlier as well, but he has improved a lot.
Whatever knuckle ball I have bowled, I wanted batsmen to go after that. That way, you can get wickets, and that's one of the main reasons why I have been successful in power plays.
I won't say I am a premier bowler or anything, because we are all trying to work hard, and whoever gets the opportunity wants to do well.
If the keeper is standing up, in the fear of getting stumped, the batsman will not try to walk down the wicket to negate the swing.
All bowlers depend on movement, and I am no exception.
I will like to take one match at a time.
I just try to improve every series.
