"Experts used to tell on TV" - Bhuvneshwar Kumar sheds light on how he improved his bowling speed

Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar shed light on how his bowling speed improved. While he was exceptional and feared for his swing, his pace was an aspect which he was always expected to improve upon.

In a recent podcast with Ranveer Allahbadiya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar opened up on his pace and how it improved. The speedster admitted that he never really tried to increase his pace as such.

He added that while experts on TV would advise him to increase his speed, he did not know how to do it, and it was not as simple either.

"It was the 2015 time period. Before that 130-132 was my average speed. After that it went to almost around 137-38. I never tried to increase pace. Experts used to tell on TV but I never tried that I want to improve my pace. I wanted it to happen but did not know how it will. If it was very simple by just training everyone would do it," he said. (49:56)

Talking about what he did to work on it, though, he revealed how trainer Shanker Basu had introduced power training, which Bhuvneshwar Kumar followed, apart from making certain tweaks in his own bowling. He added:

"Our trainer was Basu Sir, who is also RCB's trainer now. He introduced power training and I started doing that. I made some changes in bowling as well and it was a mixture of everything that clicked. It is about your body's maturity. It becomes naturally strong."

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"Gave me a sense of achievement" - Bhuvneshwar Kumar on playing his first ever IPL game

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has played 181 IPL matches to date and, with 187 wickets, has been a consistent performer over the years. He was signed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2009 but did not play a single game. His debut IPL game came in 2011 for Pune Warriors India.

Bhuvneshwar spoke about how it felt to make his IPL debut and that playing a game in the league gave him a sense of achievement.

"Three years I played for Pune Warriors. I was in two years for RCB but did not play a game. Second year I had chicken pox and was ruled out. Then those three years I went to Pune Warriors. First year I had not played the first 7-8 games. But when I played the first game, it gave me a feeling that the moment I was waiting for after three years gave me a sense of achievement that I made it to the playing XI and played," he expressed. (48:05)

The pacer also spoke about how things felt after he got his maiden IPL contract and how things were before bagging the contract.

"Before the first IPL contract, I was playing first-class cricket. It was a decent amount when I started playing there. It was not as much as you would get in the IPL. But it gives a lot of happiness that you are secured financially. It was both things. I went one step ahead in cricket. IPL was a big thing. There was satisfaction from both things," he said. (47:17)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is currently playing for RCB after he was brought for INR 10.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction. He has picked up six wickets for them from five games and is a vital cog of their pace attack this season.