Ravi Bishnoi believes a year of self-introspection, hard work and fine-tuning his lengths has helped him seize an unexpected opportunity and revive his T20 World Cup hopes after drifting out of India’s plans.

The leg-spinner endured a difficult 2024 IPL season, managing just nine wickets in 11 matches at an average above 44 for Lucknow Super Giants. The returns hurt both Bishnoi and the Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise, which finished seventh and missed the playoffs. Bishnoi was later released, only to be handed a fresh start when Rajasthan Royals snapped him up for ₹7.20 crore at the auction.

Reflecting on that phase, the 25-year-old admitted that a lack of control over his lengths and lines had cost him dearly.

“The work I’ve done in the last year has been on my knees because I didn’t do well in the IPL last season. I didn’t have control over my lines and lengths, and that made things tough,” Bishnoi said.

“I focused on bowling in the five-to-six meter length on the stumps because it’s difficult to hit from there. That’s what I tried to improve.”

Bishnoi, who last represented India in February last year against England, was not part of the original plans for the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand. He earned a late call-up only after Washington Sundar was ruled out with a side strain earlier this month.

With India already boasting a strong spin arsenal — Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington, opportunities were always going to be limited. Yet Bishnoi made the most of his chance in the third T20I, delivering an impressive spell of 2 for 18 and dismissing key batsmen Mark Chapman (32) and Glenn Phillips (48) in quick succession to derail New Zealand’s middle order.

His control and pace through the air helped restrict the visitors to 153 for 9 before India chased the target in just 10 overs to secure an eight-wicket win and an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

“Yes, it’s difficult when you are away from the side. You feel you should be there but you’re not,” Bishnoi said after the match. “This Indian team is very strong and there are very few spots. But it gave me time to work on myself.”

That grind included domestic cricket across formats, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and two Ranji matches — where Bishnoi focused on regaining consistency. The effort paid off as he picked up nine wickets in seven games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

“All those things helped me make a comeback,” he said.

Bishnoi admitted to feeling nervous when the opportunity finally came. “You don’t get many chances. You have to perform in that one opportunity. There was nervousness but also excitement.”

He emphasized the importance of rhythm and discipline in T20 bowling. “If I vary my pace too much, it becomes easy for batters. So I try to bowl at a good length at my natural pace. If the ball lands there, it’s very difficult to hit.”

The leg-spinner also praised India’s dominant batting, singling out Abhishek Sharma’s blazing form.

“The way Abhishek is playing right now, touch wood, it’s important for India. It hasn’t happened by chance. He works very hard in the nets. If he continues like this, matches can be over six overs early, like today,” Bishnoi said.

(By PTI Inputs)