How Bumrah’s tips helped Shreyanka deal with injuries and death-overs bowling

When Shreyanka Patil took the field for Barbados Royals in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) in September last year, it felt like she was restarting her cricket journey from scratch.

That WCPL stint came after a harrowing 11-month period during which Shreyanka was forced to sit out owing to injuries. When the off-spinner finally returned to competitive cricket, a second lease on life began. “I was excited when I bowled my first ball. All my nerves eased,” Shreyanka said in a virtual media interaction on Wednesday.

The long layoff allowed Shreyanka to pick the brains of Suryakumar Yadav, Riyan Parag and Mayank Yadav.

At the BCCI CoE here, Shreyanka also met Jasprit Bumrah, who shared tips on how to deal with injuries, and how to bowl in the death overs.

“I asked him how to practice bowling yorkers. He came up with brilliant answers,” Shreyanka said.

Bumrah impressed upon Shreyanka not to fight the injury recovery process, but to take it in her stride. “That was lovely advice, because he has also gone through a lot of injuries,” Shreyanka said.

The Karnataka cricketer is most grateful that Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained her for the Women’s Premier League, which commences on Friday.

“I was shocked, because to trust someone who has not played for 13-14 months – that gives so much confidence and motivation for any young cricketer,” she said.