The trademark,goofy smile on Praveen Kumars face has gone missing. After bowling 34 wicketless overs in Mumbais first innings,he looks pensive as he sits in the dressing room. Thats when he makes a confession most bowlers in his situation wouldnt dare to utter in public. I think I have lost the swing, he says. Looking helpless,he adds: Getting the ball to move was always easy for me. I really dont know how things have changed so suddenly. Maybe Im trying too hard. In the fragile world of professional cricketers,even a minor flaw in technique can make a major difference. Just a year back,Praveen could do no wrong. After making a big impact in the Ranji final against Delhi which took his total to 36 wickets from six matches he was picked for the tri-series in Australia. He played a stellar role in India winning the final,making it a habit to get the wickets of Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. That seemed in the distant past as he struggled to make the ball talk on a pitch that did offer a fair bit of assistance. Surprise all around Lalchand Rajput,who was the coach of the team on that Australia tour,says he cant believe what he is seeing. He bowled exceptionally well in Australia. He always gave us a good start,but I dont know what has happened to him this season. The Mumbai dressing room too is pleasantly surprised by Praveens ineffectiveness. I think there is some problem with the wrist position and thats why he isnt getting the swing that he used to, Praveen Amre said. But despite the lack of movement,Praveen has had his moments in the final. In the early part of century-maker Rohit Sharmas innings,he had the batsman edging a ball to the slips,but Mohammad Kaif failed to latch on. Besides,there were several instances of the ball narrowly missing the edge of the bat or the stumps. As UP bowling coach Ashish Winston Zaidi says,Sometimes it happens,he is still getting the outswinger going,but there is a problem with the inswing. He might be thinking too much,he might not be pitching the ball in the right area or there could be a problem with his wrist position, Zaidi said. This highly successful Uttar Pradesh team are strictly old-school but under the circumstances,Praveen wouldnt have minded sitting down for some video analysis.
