T20 World Cup 2022: "I have no idea that there is outside talk at the moment because my social media is cut off" - Bhuvneshwar Kumar on alienating himself to stay in the zone
Team India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has revealed that he is not active on social media at the moment to focus on the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. The Men in Blue are off to a solid start in the tournament, with the Meerut-born player playing a key role in both their wins in the Super 12 stage.
The right-arm pacer began his campaign on a bright note after a tight spell against arch-rivals Pakistan, finishing with figures of 1-22. He followed it up with yet another solid outing, where he ended with figures of 2-9 after three overs against the Netherlands.
In the process, he also became the first Indian bowler to deliver consecutive maiden overs in a T20I contest.
Admitting that he had no idea about the talk surrounding him and the team over the course of the tournament, Bhuvneshwar told reporters after India's comfortable 56-run win over the Dutch in Sydney:
"I have no idea that there is outside talk at the moment because my social media is cut off, generally you know it from there. But before coming here, when we were in Perth, where we conducted our main preparation, that was a very crucial period for us, in terms of adapting to the conditions and strategy with the different venues."
While the T20 World Cup 2022 has not been exactly a very high scoring event, the Indian bowling unit has performed well in the initial stages of the tournament. One of the primary issues was bowling at the death, which took an undue hit in the build-up to the T20 World Cup as Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out due to a back injury.
with a SIX 
#INDvNEDAcceleration & partnership with @imVkohli ⚡️
Completing 5⃣0⃣ with a SIX 💪
Keeping things tight with the ball 👌
@surya_14kumar & @BhuviOfficial chat as #TeamIndia beat Netherlands in the #T20WorldCup. 👍 👍 - By @RajalArora
Full interview 🎥🔽 #INDvNED
bit.ly/3U0ZYaD https://t.co/x0p2wuMd6t
Opining that there was never a need to dwell on their death-bowling issues from the 2022 Asia Cup. Bhuvneshwar said:
"We bowled poorly in the Asia Cup at the death, and that is that, it happened. The media keeps talking, the commentators keep mentioning, but we, as a team know that things can go up and down. It was not an alarming thing as such. T20 is a format where it is tough to bowl and tough for batters when the wicket is tricky."
Shaky bowling in the death overs, particularly the dreaded penultimate over, cost India heavily in the continental tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Apart from bowling at the back end, the team's ability to defend totals was also questioned.
"You cannot completely plan out everything throughout the tournament" - Bhuvneshwar Kumar on flexibility being the key
Team India ended up conceding 53 runs off the final five overs against Pakistan, which was a tad concerning considering that their main batters were back in the hut.
Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf played small, yet vital cameos to push Pakistan towards the 160-run mark.
Noting that the approach towards death bowling is more flexible than the overs already being earmarked for a particular individual, Bhuvneshwar said in response to a Sportskeeda query:
"You cannot completely plan out everything throughout the tournament, so of course, there is flexibility, especially with death bowling, so the captain takes the decision at the moment."
Team India will next be seen facing South Africa on Sunday, October 30, at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Rohit Sharma and Co. are currently atop the table with four points.
With good swing on offer in both matches so far, is Bhuvneshwar Kumar India's most lethal bowler? Let us know what you think.