More muscle, less fat, same deadly swing: Bhuvneshwar combines virtues, variations

Shubman Gill pressed forward to swat Bhuvneshwar Kumar across the line, but the ball came wee bit in from good length to rattle the stumps of the Gujarat Titans' captain. It was as unremarkable a dismissal as one would see across this season of the IPL" class="text-primary-600 hover:text-primary-700 dark:text-primary-400 dark:hover:text-primary-300 underline transition-colors font-medium" title="View IPL cricket series">IPL" class="text-primary-600 hover:text-primary-700 dark:text-primary-400 dark:hover:text-primary-300 underline transition-colors font-medium" title="View IPL cricket series">IPL.

But that 10-second moment in the Qualifier 1 at Dharamsala carried the essence of Bhuvneshwar's bowling - old-school, minimal but highly effective.

The 36-year-old pacer is now a frontrunner for this year's Purple Cap, having taken 26 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 8, and only Jason Holder (7.63) has been thriftier among the top 20 bowlers than Bhuvneshwar.

In that, 12 wickets have come inside the Power Play segment at an astounding economy of around 7, fuelling Royal Challengers Bengaluru's march to a second successive IPL final.

It has been a remarkable transition by Bhuvneshwar - once deemed unsuitable for T20 format because of his lack of pace to the second-highest wicket-taker in the league with 222 wickets.

So, how does he manage to keep himself relevant in the age of range-hitting and flat tracks? After all, some of the more revered names have withered in this unforgiving league.

Omkar Salvi, the RCB bowling coach, offered some insight.

"Everyone knows what a world-class bowler he is and the skills he possesses. Every bowler has their own strengths and teams plan according to that. Bhuvi is bowling with the new ball, so naturally, he wants to explore the swing.

"At the death as well, he has been using his variations effectively. It depends on which phase he is operating in," said Salvi.

Bhuvneshwar has an abundance of variations, and he has also added a very handy yorker to his repertoire of late, helping him to be tougher to ward off in the death overs.

But none of it is as deceiving as his knuckleball, something he has developed while watching former India cricket team">India pacer Zaheer Khan.

The Meerut man grips the ball's seam with the tip of his index and middle fingers, curling the knuckles in.

It is an awkward grip and release but also causes extreme wobble and rather sudden dip to leave the batter in a shambles, particularly while lining him up for a big hit.

Rohit Sharma will vouch for that.

The veteran Mumbai Indians batter wanted to execute a trademark thump through the covers, but a 116 kmph wider knuckle ball took the edge of his bat before nestling in the safe mitts of Jitesh Sharma.

"A lot of planning goes into it, when to use it, it's not random, and it depends on how the wicket is behaving. When there's a bit of seam or swing in the first six, I try to extract that.

"So, it's about being proactive, like batters are these days. If it's a slow wicket, where the ball might stop on the surface, I may use the knuckle ball," Bhuvneshwar had told in an interview.

But this whole bunch of clever variations act as a booster to his inherent ability to swing the ball both ways, which in itself can keep a batter guessing all the time.

If anything, the willingness to add more contours to his bowling shows the pacer's insatiable desire to work on his craft.

"He can outthink a batsman easily. He has been bowling for so many years now and has developed this ability to judge a batter's mindset and he can plot the dismissal while adjusting the field to his strengths.

"What he does is he keeps learning and adds to his bowling. I think now he can bowl in the early 140s, and that was not the case earlier. Now, he can beat a batsman for pace in conditions that suit that kind of bowling," offered Praveen Kumar, former India pacer and a close confidant of Bhuvneshwar.

Salvi said Bhuvneshwar has also worked hard on his fitness ahead of this IPL season in order to go through the grind during the harsh summer days.

"Looking at the experience Bhuvneshwar has, he understands his body really well. He knows the fitness components he needs to work on and he has worked religiously on them. That is reflected in his bowling," he said.

RCB's title defence on Sunday - either against Gujarat Titans or Rajasthan Royals - will have a direct link with Bhuvneshwar's success rate.

If the pitch here offers the same grip as it has done on most occasions this season, then we can witness a blockbuster battle of wits between Bhuvneshwar and batters.