Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been considered for the five-match T20 series against the West Indies despite taking 16 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2023. Ajit Agarkar has become the chief selector of the BCCI, and his selection panel not considering Bhuvneshwar has made many wonder if Bhuvi will be back with the national team or not. When, earlier in March, BCCI dropped him from the central contract list, there were indications regarding his comeback in the team. The age factor and lack of pace have also reduced his chance to make it to Team India ahead of young bowlers Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar, who will be playing for India in the West Indies.
Sharma believes Bhuvi can still play for the Indian team
Former Indian cricketer and selection committee member Gopal Sharma believes that even at the age of 33, Bhuvneshwar can still play for some more years and stake his claim to play in the Indian team. But for this, the pacer will have to play on the domestic circuit because that’s the only place where selectors can observe his performances. Sharma said, “It is difficult for Bhuvneshwar to make a comeback in the Indian team, but not impossible, as the current pace bowlers are doing well for the country. Now he needs to give his best to play on the domestic circuit and attract the attention of the selectors.
Bhuvneshwar’s last international appearance was in 2022
The new selection committee’s goal is to build a strong team for the future, and for this scenario, Bhuvneshwar is not the best fit. Bhuvi played his last test match against South Africa in 2018, and after this, his last international appearance was in a T20 against New Zealand in November 2022. The 33-year-old has played all three formats for India and taken 63 wickets in tests. 141 in ODIs and 87 in T20s.
Bhuvneshwar’s recurring injuries have also badly affected his prospects and have seen him rarely feature in the Indian team. Due to an injury in 2018, Bhuvneshwar was ruled out of Test matches, and since then he hasn’t made a comeback in the team. Now he is being dropped from the ODI and T20 teams as well. His image as the best bowler in death overs also suffered a blow when Pakistan’s batsmen smashed 19 runs in the 19th over during Asia Cup. After this, Sri Lanka also plundered 14 runs in his last over. Although Bhuvneshwar was the highest wicket-taker that year with 37 wickets in 32 T20 matches, with a best performance of 5/4, his bowling has not been the same as in the past.
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