IPL 2021: I was working with Bishnoi and that's the reason he didn't start the tournament, says Kumble
Apr 24, 2021
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 24 : Ravi Bishnoi might not have played the first four games for Punjab Kings, but the leg-spinner picked two important wickets against Mumbai Indians when he got the chance to feature in his first match of ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday.
Anil Kumble revealed the reason behind Bishnoi's absence from the initial games. Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami picked two wickets each as Punjab Kings restricted Mumbai Indians to 131/6 before the batsmen took Punjab over the line.
"I know Bishnoi played all the games in last season. When he joined us this season, I thought he was not the same bowler that we had seen last year. I was working with him on his run-up, few things here and there because he was drifting down the leg side and that's the reason he didn't start the tournament," said Kumble, Director of Cricket Operations, in a video posted on Punjab Kings Twitter.
"Over the last one week, he worked on his skills. So wonderful to see him back, he is always a competitor. He picked two wickets in an important game like this," he added.
Skipper KL Rahul and Chris Gayle played unbeaten knocks of 60 and 43 as Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by nine wickets with 14 balls to spare here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.
The former India spinner praised skipper Rahul for not only batting well, but also using the bowlers in tandem carefully against Mumbai Indians.
"Happy with the win. It is not an easy pitch to play on. Yes, we were disappointed with the loss against SRH, another 15-20 runs and we would have crossed the line. I think, the team batted really well against Mumbai Indians and bowled exceptionally well. I think on a surface like this you need to execute your plans and that is something we did," said Kumble.
"Kudos to Rahul, the way he handled the bowlers. Every bowler played their part, or fielding was really good and intensity was really good too and that's what you want in a must-win game like this. This win will give us a lot of confidence. Overall really happy with how things went," he added.
Punjab Kings is now at the fifth position in the IPL points table with 4 points from 5 games. The side will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
