Now, four years later, he has been called up in Team India again, for the Twenty20 Internationals against South Africa. And this time, Sreenath Arvind is much better prepared for the big stage.
“I was so happy and excited when I heard of this call-up. It has been a long journey and I was expecting this,” Arvind told BCCI.TV. “In 2011 it was very surprising for me. This time I was much more prepared. Since the last time, I have improved my bowling and worked really hard to get better as a bowler.”
Soon after his maiden India call-up, in 2011, Arvind suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the game for four weeks. He missed crucial domestic games and his performance suffered. Since then the pacer has come a long way in terms of fitness, skills and handling pressure.
In their victorious 2014-15 Ranji Trophy campaign, Arvind was Karnataka’s leading bowler with 42 wickets in 10 matches at 17.42. Now he hopes to reap the rewards of the hard yards.
“Since the injury, I have improved my fitness levels, worked on my bowling action and in getting the right lengths. The work I have put into my fitness has also helped me add a couple of yards of pace in my bowling.
“Now I am much more experienced and I can handle the pressure in the right way. I have reached a place where I am mature enough to put all the pressure aside and focus on what needs to be done,” he said.
Arvind’s inclusion brings in a crucial and welcome new dimension to the Indian team. – a left-arm pacer. The advantage of having a good left-arm fast bowler has been evident over the years. Recently, the success of the likes of Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Trent Boult has stood out.
Arvind hopes to be the answer to Team India’s need in that regards, using the guidance and tips he has received from Zaheer Khan and Mitchell Starc during their IPL stints with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“I have played with Zaheer Khan as part of the RCB. I have learned many things from him as to what difference a left-arm pacer can make to the team,” Arvind said. “He kept it very simple. He always talked about bowling hard lengths and reading the batsman so you can be one-up against him. I also learned a lot from him in terms of forming different plans to counter each batsman based on his skills.
“There was one thing he told me that has stuck with me. He said, ‘We, as bowlers, have six balls in an over whereas a batsman, once he gets out, doesn’t have another opportunity’. That mindset has helped me be more confident about my own bowling,” Arvind conceded.
Starc is another left-arm pacer from whom Arvind has picked up a few things during the IPL. “Mitchell Starc has been very helpful. The most important thing I’ve learnt from him was how to bowl yorkers effectively based on the wicket you are bowling on.”
Another member of the RCB team Arvind acknowledges for his help is AB de Villiers. He has picked up a few things bowling to the South African batsman in the nets and he hopes to share it with the other bowlers in the Indian team when they take on the Proteas.
“I bowl a lot to AB de Villiers in the nets and have learned many things about how to bowl to him. If I can share the information with my team-mates, it will help not only me but also the other bowlers when we play South Africa.
“AB gave me helpful pointers from the batsman’s perspective when I bowled to him in the nets – what delivery he finds tough to deal with and how I can trouble the batsman more if I change the angle or the length. I hope to use that knowledge to the benefit of Team India,” he said.
As he celebrates his national call-up and prepares for the South Africa series, Arvind took a moment to thank the club gave him his cricketing break.
“In 2007 my cricketing career started with State Bank of Mysore (SBM) that helped me get opportunities in the Ranji Trophy. I would like to thank them for giving me that break that has now got me into Team India,” Arvind said.
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