India’s up-and-coming pacer Barinder Sran attributes his good showing in the ongoing limited-overs' series in Zimbabwe to a tweak in his bowling action and this year's Indian Premier League.
Sran appears to have rediscovered his in-swinger in Harare, having ended up with four wickets in three the ODIs, at an average of 24.75.
It was a welcome performance for the bowler, who made an ordinary debut in Australia earlier in the year.
The left-arm pacer said he consciously worked on getting his wrist position to generate more swing.
"I changed the seam position a bit, made some changes to my action because I am looking to swing the new ball. So I am not putting in too much effort, because if I do that I lose my wrist position and it reduces the swing," said Sran, ahead of the opening T20 International against Zimbabwe in Harare on Saturday.
In the just-concluded ODIs against Zimbabwe he stuck to a fuller length and troubled the batsmen with the incoming ball. But that was not the case in Australia, where he leaked runs.
"(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.
"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," said the pacer who turned out for eventual winners Sunrisers Hyderabad this season.
He also credited his Sunrisers teammates Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his recent success.
"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 focussing and working on those areas where I am 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 Nehrapaaji and Bhuvibhai 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," he said.
Sran feels he has a long way to go before he is ready for Test cricket.
"To get there, I need to be consistent and bowl one line and length. 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."
