Senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar opened up about being appointed the vice-captain of India's white-ball contingent in Sri Lanka, saying that his experience will play a key role in helping other players.
Bhuvneshwar, the second-most experienced player in the Indian unit after skipper Shikhar Dhawan, stressed revamping players' mental health as well. “Yes, on paper, it is my role (vice-captain), but I don’t think things will change,” said Bhuvneshwar ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka on July 13.
“I think being a senior player my role is to do things that help other players in improving their skills and mental health. Being the vice-captain of Team India is an honour and a responsibility. So, I will try to continue doing the things that I have been doing and hope our team does well on this tour,” he added.
A youthful Indian team, led by Dhawan and coached by ex-India skipper Rahul Dravid, comprises many fresh faces. This will also be the first instance of two Indian teams playing simultaneously against two different oppositions.
India will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Bhuvneshwar also talked about his relationship with coach Dravid, saying that he feels "lucky" to work with the Indian batting great. The Meerut-born pacer has had his fair share of injuries, but he'll be aiming to make a comeback to the Indian limited-overs camp, especially when the T20 World Cup and the remainder of the IPL 2021 are edging closer.
“I have played against him (Rahul Dravid) and he was a part of the RCB team just when I got inducted into the team. So I don’t have any such memories with him, but when I got to the NCA, we did have some chats.
"I wanted to work with him and I am lucky that he is the coach. The young players have played under him for India A. So we want to work under him and pick his brain and want to understand how he manages things at that level for such a long time,” Bhuvneshwar added.
