The left-arm fast bowler has been impressive in the ongoing Under-19 World Cup with 10 wickets from 5 matches.
U-19 World Cup is towards its business end and India will face Australia in the final on Sunday. Many players have played crucial roles in India’s campaign so far and one of them is Naman Tiwari. The left-arm pacer has picked up 10 wickets in 5 matches in this tournament so far. He credited star India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for his success during the tournament and called him the ‘source of inspiration.’
“Bumrah is a source of inspiration for us. 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, which have been useful. He told me how to bowl accurate yorkers, and I have worked a lot (on that aspect) following his advice,” Tiwari told PTI Bhasha as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“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,” he mentioned.
The young left-arm pacer also threw light upon how his father wasn’t supportive of cricket during the initial stages of his cricket career. “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’ time to prove myself in cricket. My family is very happy with my success today. Papa calls me every evening. Seeing them happy makes me feel very good that I did not disappoint them,” he added.
Tiwari aims to play Test cricket one day and wants to bowl the fastest ball in the world. He says, “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.”
“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,” he further added.
Naman Tiwari is India’s second highest wicket-taker in the tournament just behind Saumy Pandey. India have reached their fifth U-19 World Cup final in a row. The defending champions are also the most successful team in U-19 World Cup history with five titles and are just one step away from their sixth trophy.
