There was a discussion brewing all summer. Bhuvneshwar Kumar‘s 28-wicket haul in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s second straight IPL title-winning campaign, and his near-miss for the Purple Cap, was bound to fuel a conversation that had remained at a nascent stage over the last few years. The selectors perhaps ended up receiving as many calls for Bhuvneshwar as they did over Rohit Sharma‘s ODI future. And yet, it came as quite a surprise when the veteran fast bowler returned to the India fold after four years.
Consistency was Bhuvneshwar’s biggest strength in the white-ball format after he fell out of reckoning for a place in the Indian team. Since his last appearance for India in November 2022, he has picked up 72 wickets in the IPL — the most by any bowler in that period — with 45 of those coming during RCB’s two title-winning seasons.
Bhuvneshwar, by his own admission, did not pay much attention to the chatter. “I am not thinking about a comeback for India. It has been many years since I have stopped keeping or making long-term goals because whenever I have done that, it has never worked for me,” he had said in a video released by RCB during the IPL 2026 season. Perhaps it was his way of staying grounded, having already made peace with the possibility that an India comeback may not happen.
In a recent chat with Jatin Sapru on his YouTube channel, Bhuvneshwar revealed that after his last appearance for India at the 2022 T20 World Cup, he was told by the selectors that he remained in the mix even as they experimented with fresh faces. He waited for a comeback for a few months and was hurt when it did not materialise. Eventually, though, he came to terms with it and moved on.
However, on Tuesday evening, as the new-look selection committee picked the T20I squad for the tour of New Zealand, the 36-year-old found his name on the sheet.
With the ODI and Test fixtures taking precedence over the T20Is on the upcoming tour, much of India’s frontline bowling resources will be deployed in those formats. That left the selectors looking for an experienced option in the shortest format in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. Bhuvneshwar, who had reportedly been in contention for an India return for some time, was consequently picked to lead the attack in the five-match series.
However, his selection could also be viewed as a potential first step towards an ODI recall, with an eye on next year’s World Cup. Bhuvneshwar last played an ODI for India in January 2022.
India have been plagued by injuries, particularly in the pace department, leaving the selectors and team management scrambling for options. Fresh faces have also been introduced into the 50-over format, but the recent ODI series against the West Indies left India with more questions than answers over their bowling attack.
India won the series 2-1 but conceded 1,038 runs across the three matches, including 352 in New Chandigarh in the final ODI as the West Indies registered their highest successful run chase in ODI cricket. Bumrah was absent, while Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj, Aquib Nabi and Nitish Kumar Reddy formed the pace line-up. None, however, managed to make a convincing case.
Brar averaged 73 across the three matches, picking up three wickets. Siraj played only one match and returned figures of 1/51. Nabi went wicketless for 84 runs on his debut in the third ODI, while Kamboj also went without a wicket after conceding 82 runs in nine overs at the same venue. Reddy, with figures of 1/95 across two matches, also failed to deliver for captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Across India’s 12 ODIs in 2026, in which they won seven, the bowlers have averaged 41.86 — the third-worst mark among full-member nations, behind West Indies (46.66) and Ireland (43.88). That stands in sharp contrast to India’s batting average of 50.28, the best among all teams this year and the only one above 45.
The strength of that batting unit was also on full display against the West Indies, with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Gill and KL Rahul all scoring centuries.
With India struggling to find bowling options capable of adequately complementing Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar might just turn out to be that player. There remains, however, a significant caveat.
The senior paceman has limited himself to T20 cricket in recent times, having last featured in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2023. While the T20Is against New Zealand will be a good test of where he stands, India would need to assess his fitness and workload management if they are to seriously pursue this option with around a year left before the ODI World Cup.
For Bhuvneshwar, though, the possibility of playing in another World Cup remains something he would relish.
“100 per cent. You can’t beat the feeling of playing in a World Cup, whichever sport it may be,” he had told Sapru. “My body is ready. I’ve physio and trainer at home. At this moment, I’m ready. I’m training, but not keeping the 50-over World Cup on mind, but because I want to. If the selection happens I would be happy. If it doesn’t happen, I won’t be disappointed.”
