Naman Tiwari, a seamer for India Under-19, aspires to bowl the fastest ball in history. Talking with Jasprit Bumrah, he said that he watches his videos, and his words have filled him with motivation. The left-arm fast bowler Tiwari, who is making chaos in South Africa at the current Under-19 World Cup, believes that the advice Bumrah gave him at the NCA in Bengaluru is working like magic.
Tiwari, a Lucknow native, has rattled hitters with his yorkers and pace. In five games, he has taken ten wickets, including two four-wicket hauls.
Bumrah is a source of inspiration for us," Tiwari told PTI Bhasha on the sidelines of a practice session at Willowmoore Park Stadium. "I watch his bowling videos a lot. I have met him several times at the NCA and talked to him a lot about the mentality and skills of a bowler.
He explained a lot [of things to me], which have been useful. He told me how to bowl accurate yorkers, and I have worked a lot [on that aspect] following his advice. I have to work hard to bring more aggression in my bowling.
I try to learn something from every bowler I like. I try to understand and learn by watching his [Bumrah's] videos. I like Shoaib Akhtar's speed, Dale Steyn's swing, and Mitchell Starc's aggression very much
Naman initially wanted to become a batsman but situations turned the conditions 'upside down' and he chose the path of becoming a pacer.
"I started playing cricket as a batsman but I was not getting many chances," he said. "That's why I started bowling at an academy in Lucknow. Since I am left-handed, I became a left-arm fast bowler"
With his middle-class upbringing and his father's job as an LIC agent, he was under tremendous pressure to concentrate on his studies. However, cricket was his passion.
"Papa always told me to focus on my studies. I was in seventh standard and wanted to play cricket. I asked my father to give me three years to prove myself in cricket. My family is very happy with my success today.
"Papa calls me every evening. Seeing them [family] happy makes me feel very good that I did not disappoint them."
He aims to become a lethal pacer and get to bowl in the Indian jersey.
One day I want to bowl the fastest ball in the world. I also want to play the World Cup with the senior team. But, for now, I have to focus on performance. I want to continuously improve my game because the challenges will be even bigger in the future and I will have to prepare my base to face them.
Happy with the team's performance so far in the Under-19 World Cup, Tiwari said that it was the result of the team effort.
So far, the performance of all the players has been very good. Especially in the semifinals against South Africa, we showed tremendous spirit. I am very happy with the way we are playing and will try to maintain this momentum in the final also.
Although I like all formats, I find Test cricket the most challenging. That's where the real test of a bowler lies and I want to become a good Test cricketer in the future
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