Dhoni pleased with Bhuvi’s improvement

India

India T20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was delighted with the way seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled against the UAE in their Asia Cup match on Thursday, and was happy with his increase in pace in particular.

Kumar was added to the squad when Mohammed Shami was ruled out through injury, and in this match he recorded figures of 4-2-8-2, including 12 dot balls. He also pushed his normal medium pace up to the 140kph mark a few times.

Dhoni said that while he was pleased with this effort, even against a smaller side, he still thought of Bhuvneshwar as a replacement bowler, albeit a valuable one in Shami's absence.

Dhoni said of the young paceman: "He is a hard-working guy.

"He always works hard in the nets and also in the gym and I feel that's something that is important for the fast bowlers, to keep themselves fit and also take the break in the best possible manner.

"That has actually helped him increase the pace but at the same time, it has not affected his swing bowling. That is key, because you don't want to bowl quick but lose that extra movement that you have.

"So that's a big positive sign for us. And when it comes to his consistency, he is still somebody who bowls very consistently with his line and length.

"So overall, he has used the break, whether it was forced or when he was out of the side, in the best possible manner and also him coming good gives us that extra option in case Shami doesn't get fit.

"He's somebody who can straight away come in and start doing the work for the team."

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