Bhuvneshwar and Praveen: products of Victoria Park

Uttar Pradesh has the fine honour of producing some of India's current best exponents of swing bowling. Two notable examples, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar, honed their craft in Meerut's Victoria Park, which has long enjoyed the reputation of being a green pitch which takes appreciable swing. Karthik Krishnaswamy, writing for The Indian Express, explores their respective stories.

The Victoria Park outfield, freshened by an early morning shower, is lush but perfectly mown. You imagine that it would take a while for an SG ball to lose its shine here. At other times of the year, conditions might be dry and parched or close to freezing. Whatever the weather is like, the ground is always dotted with figures in white.