Hurling yorkers like Jasprit Bumrah and master death bowling is among the few tricks Navdeep Saini wants to learn while steaming in at nets alongside one of the world's best bowlers and his lieutenants.
The pacer from Karnal, who plays for Delhi in domestic cricket and represents Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, will be flying to the United Kingdom for the ICC World Cup as one of India's four net bowlers for the showpiece.
Bumrah's unplayable yorkers aside, Saini also wants to learn from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami.
"We have spoken briefly in the IPL but not much as we were busy with our respective franchises. Bhuvi bhai's swing, Bumrah bhai's yorker and the way Shami bhai seams after pitching on the length is just amazing. I hope I will learn these things from them and become a better bowler," Saini said.
Playing under Virat Kohli at RCB, the 26-year-old took 11 wickets in 13 matches, bowling 141 dot balls which was among the top-10 in the recently-concluded IPL.
"It was a great learning experience playing under the Indian captain. He always backed me. He told me never to take any pressure and always keep the intensity high. Give your 110 per cent effort. It has become a habit for me now," Saini added.
He is paying a lot of attention to death bowling these days, something Bumrah has mastered.
"My focus currently is on improving my death bowling and backing my strength — bowling hard length ball that comes on top of the stumps.
"It's a deadly delivery. We think batsmen will hit you, but if you make slight variation and bowl in the same area, it becomes a very difficult to clear."
Saini has impressed with his pace in his first IPL season and was the fastest among Indians, clocking 152.85 kph, which was second only to South Africa's Kagiso Rabada's at 154.23 kph.
