During the IPL 2024 auction held in Dubai, Royal Challengers Bengaluru bolstered their bowling department by signing as many as four fast bowlers including three overseas and one Indian. The Bengaluru-based outfit invested heavily on the likes of West Indian Alzarri Joseph, New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson, pace-allrounder Tom Curran and Yash Dayal after intense bidding wars. Nevertheless, their decision to go for fast bowlers didn’t yield them results so far.
As things stand, they are at the bottom of the points table with three wins and succumbed to 7 defeats this season. Meanwhile, Mahesh Kumar, a net bowler for RCB in IPL 2024 has been gaining all the attention for his bowling style and has drawn comparisons with India’s premier paceman Jasprit Bumrah.
RCB net bowler Mahesh Kumar reminds us of Jasprit Bumrah
It is no secret that Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling action is kind of unconventional and not something you see often. Unlike most pacers, Bumrah has a short run-up approach to the crease. We have seen his arms that don’t swing widely and instead, his arms stay close to his body, leading to a tight and controlled movement. This has been a key aspect of his bowling technique, which lets him to maintain better control over his movements.
🎥 Mahesh Kumar – Net Bowler for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2024.#IPL2024 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/X5kXtd11hk
— Indian Domestic Cricket Forum – IDCF (@IDCForum) April 29, 2024
According to the video clip, Mahesh Kumar can be seen maintaining the short run-up and bowling at a brisk pace, quite similar to Jasprit Bumrah. The video clip of the same has gone viral on social media, with the majority of the netizens heaping praise on Mahesh Kumar for his action. The right-arm pacer was seen bowling to a right-hander, targeting his leg stump. He is currently a part of RCB’s squad for IPL 2024.
An X (previously Twitter) user reshared the video and wrote, “Mahesh Kumar who was part of Gujarat Titans in 2022 is now a net bowler of RCB in IPL 2024. He has an action similar to Jasprit Bumrah.” For the unversed, the video clip is from his previous stint with Gujarat Titans (GT) when he was a net bowler in 2022. The footage was taken during one of his practice sessions.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have long been criticized for their ineffective bowling line-up over the seasons. Despite boasting one of the strongest batting line-ups, they have quite often been let down by their low-spirited bowling performances, a chink in the armour that the think-tank hasn’t fixed yet. Perhaps, a stitch in time could have made their journey far better.
