This year, however, is much different. The seamer had an impressive season after good tours of West Indies and New Zealand and then a brilliant performance in the Duleep Trophy, he was included in the Twenty20 squad against Pakistan where he made an immediate impact. He continued his good showing in the twin One-day series against Pakistan and England, which paved the way for his Test selection. Most importantly, he also played a crucial part in India's 4-0 whitewash of Australia.
Bhuvi, as he is fondly known, recalls his unforgettable last year in an interview with TOI.
Excerpts:
Q: This IPL will surely be different for you. Will there be pressure of expectations?
I don't think so. I have never put myself under any pressure. If you start taking pressure, the enjoyment factor goes away. There are always expectations from you whether you play at the junior level, domestic, international cricket or IPL. As a professional, you need to give your best and do the job. My commitment level has been the same in the last four-five years.
Q: It was a great season last year for you. You played for the country in every format. Did you expect it coming your way so soon?
The last one year has been good for me. I had good tours of West Indies and New Zealand. I played in different conditions and learned a lot from those tours. Then I got the chance to play for the country and the things went well for me in Twenty20 and One-dayers against England and Pakistan. I wasn't expecting the Test call but I was definitely hopeful. Every cricketer wants to play Test for his country and I am no different. It was great to be part of Test team. At the international level, you need to be stronger mentally. You need to have confidence in your skills.
Q: The spinners were always going to play a major role in this series. What was your approach as a new ball bowler?
When you are part of the playing eleven, there's always role for you. As a bowler you don't think about the surface you are playing on. It's your job to take wickets. It's nice to have contributed in team's win. When you get early breakthroughs, it helps spinners to put more pressure on opposition's middle order. So I always looked to take wickets. I was happy with my performance but I know I have to keep working hard and get better.
Q: You had a great debut in Chennai where your partnership with MS Dhoni turned out to be crucial...
I couldn't have asked for a better debut than this. I had the best seat in the stadium to watch one of the greatest innings. The match was hanging in balance at that time but his innings had swung the momentum in our favour. There was not much discussion at the middle. Mahi bhai kept telling me to bat normal as I do. He just wanted me to hang around as long as possible. After initial nerves I was just batting according to the situation.
Q: Many former players termed this an average Australian side. How do you react to it?
People say what they want but it was a great result for us. The scoreline may tell different story but we have worked very hard to achieve this result. Each bowler worked hard for the wickets while batsmen batted in tough conditions. It was a great team effort. No international team is weak these days and you always have to be on your toes.
Q: Although you picked up important wickets, there's always talk about the speed factor...
I enjoy bowling with new ball but I am working hard to improve my skills with the old ball. I have people around me to guide so I don't want to rush anything. My strength is swing and pace will come with time. Over the years I have taken wickets at the domestic level with same skills. I would love to add more skills but not at the cost of old ones. I consider myself a bowler who can contribute with the bat down the order. Primarily, my job is to take wickets.
Q: How has IPL helped you improve as a cricketer? Pune Warriors haven't performed well for the last two years. What are expectations this time?
IPL is a big tournament where you play against some world class players and doing well against them obviously gives you confidence. You get a chance to share the dressing room with some of the greats of the game; pick up their minds. It helps a lot. We could have done better in the last two years but this is a new season. We have some new faces in the squad. Besides, player like Yuvraj (Singh) will be back in the squad and everyone knows about his abilities.
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