Over the last few days, there has been a massive debate in Indian cricket. Ravichandran Ashwin opened the can of worms when he urged the selectors to give Bhuvneshwar Kumar a recall to the national side. The 36-year-old last played for India during the 2022 tour of New Zealand in November.
The right-arm seamer has played a total of 21 Tests, 121 ODI matches and 87 T20Is so far. His last ODI match for India was against South Africa in early 2022, where he went wicketless. In the next four years, the Indian cricket team has moved on, but the player’s wicket-taking form in IPL 2026 has put him back in conversation for a recall to the side.
The Men in Blue have bilateral ODI assignments to play before the 2027 World Cup. This includes matches at home and also key overseas series. However, he shouldn’t be recalled to the side due to three reasons.
3- Selector’s decision to look at the future
For the last year or so, the selectors have maintained that they want to look at the future as far as the pace bowling department is concerned. The likes of Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav have been included in the last few series, while Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj are the other options in the fifty-over format. It is the reason behind Mohammed Shami’s absence from the team. If such a policy is in place, then Bhuvi, who turns 37 early next year, will certainly find it difficult to knock on the selectors’ door for a return to the side.
2- Inability to maintain constant speed
One of the biggest problems for the pacer during the course of his India career was his lack of pace. His average speed in ODI cricket before his exit from the team was between 131 and 136 KPH, which is less compared to the other bowlers in the side. A lack of pace on surfaces where the ball comes onto the bat nicely can be a huge deterrent for the Indian cricket team. There are certain tracks in South Africa where bowlers need extra pace, which could work against Bhuvi.
1- Past injury issues
One thing that the current Indian team is suffering from is the constant injury setbacks faced by their players. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, between 2016 and 2020, had faced several injury issues. If the pacer is picked for international recall, there is no guarantee that he can stay injury-free going into the World Cup. The board is managing the workloads of players like Bumrah and Siraj, while the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli too have to be treated carefully. Recalling a player with a long injury-riddled history can turn out to be a huge risk that the board may not be willing to take.