Conditions, technical changes and IPL experience helps Barinder Sran improve his bowling

It was shaping and swinging wonderfully for left arm fast bowler Barinder Sran in the recently concluded ODI series against Zimbabwe. He took 4 wickets at 24.75, at an economy rate of 4.12. His in-swingers were a source of discomfort for Zimbabwe’s batsmen. Ahead of the T20I series that begins in Harare on Saturday, Sran said he had consciously worked on getting his wrist position right.

“It’s the difference in the conditions [between Australia and Zimbabwe],” Sran said. “I changed the seam position a bit, made some changes to my action because I’m looking to swing the new ball. So I’m not putting in too much effort because if I do that, I lose my wrist position and it reduces the swing.”

Sran was one of the surprise picks in the Indian squad for the Australian tour in January earlier this year. It was, however, not a memorable outing for him as he returned with 3 wickets at an average of 56.66 while giving away runs at 6.45 an over.

Sran has shown great improvement playing against the African country, bowling fuller lengths and luring the batsman to play him more often.

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“[In Australia], I had a problem in my shoulder because of which I couldn’t perform to my potential. So I was under some pressure,” Sran said. “I didn’t have much IPL experience either then, I had played only one IPL match, and even in the Ranji Trophy, only 10-11 matches. Still, everybody supported me and that felt good.

“Nothing much has changed, because in Australia, there was a huge difference in the kind of wickets. It was quite hot there and they were good batting wickets, whereas here, there is some help for the bowlers. I have just been focusing and working on those areas where I’m weak, like when I was trying to swing, the ball wasn’t coming back in, so I worked on that regularly. In the IPL too, [Ashish] Nehra paaji and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] bhai were with me, they taught me seam position and supported me in all aspects from the beginning. For two-three days, I went to Chandigarh as well and met my coach Amit Uniyal and worked with him.”

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The performances in Zimbabwe have been a step forward after his struggles in Australia, but Sran acknowledged that work was needed before he can be considered ready for Test cricket. “To get there, I need to be consistent and bowl one line and length,” he said. “I need to improve a lot, I need to improve my pace and fitness level. I will work towards achieving these in the next season.”