Lovedeep, who has a chiseled stature and a powerful bowling motion, has the potential to become a solid seam bowler, albeit perhaps not as excellent as Trent Boult or Shaheen Shah Afridi in terms of ball swing. but enough talent to keep players of the caliber of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma on their toes.
The India captain commended him for his skillfully concealed slower backhand shot, which bothered Rohit. “He encouraged me a lot. He said ‘well bowled’ when I tried my slower one.”, describing the back-of-the-hand release with his hands.
While giving the ball back to Punjab-born, left-arm seamer Lovedeep Singh, 22, India captain Rohit Sharma said, “Bohut badhiya… Ye wala aur daalo.” . Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli, three members of India’s renowned top order, have historically been more vulnerable to left-arm pacers, particularly those who bring the ball back in. Lovedeep, one of the eight net bowlers India employed on Sunday in their first practice before their T20I match against Australia at the PCA Stadium in Mohali, may have bowled the most to all three of them for that reason.
The Indian team management had specifically demanded left-arm seamers, and Dinesh Kumar, a cricket coach and the current in-charge of the Punjab Cricket Association’s net session, nearly hand-picked Lovedeep. “I am aware of his tremendous potential since he has played for Punjab U-23. Leg-spinners and left-arm pacers were specifically requested (from the Indian team management). Lovedeep was the lone left-arm spinner out of the two we chose “explained Kumar.
Aside from the slower back-of-the-hand deliveries that Rohit, Rahul, and Suryakumar Yadav praised, the ball that Lovedeep would cherish in his memory for a very long time was the one that either dismissed the India captain or almost did. Rohit miscalculated the length of the delivery and reacted defensively. When the ball hit Rohit’s bat, it halted briefly before bouncing off the bottom half and rising into the air into the cover area, where a fielder is typically stationed almost always, even in a T20I.
While telling the story, the left-arm seamer from Sangrur got excited and said, “He went back and tried to push, the ball went up in the air.”Sheer joy was visible in his eyes. “It was an experiment of a lifetime.”
Virat Kohli seemed to be the most at an ease of all the Indian batsmen Lovedeep bowled to. The contrast was evident in his quick off-the-bat maneuvers and precision footwork. “He is at a different level. I thought I could never beat his bat,” said Lovedeep.
Lovedeep said Sunday’s experience will help him put his best foot forward in the domestic season. Lovedeep’s immediate ambition is to break into the Punjab team.
