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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already announced the teams for the upcoming UK tour and Asian Games 2026. Shreyas Iyer has been made the captain of the T20I team in place of T20 World Cup 2026 winning captain Suryakumar Yadav. Apart from Shreyas, some new names have been added to the T20I team.
Despite some new names, one of the older names, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, did not feature in all the squads named for the tours. The leading wicket-taker failed to make the champion Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squad for the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He took 28 wickets this season, one less than Kagiso Rabada, who won the Purple Cap.
Why does BCCI ignore Bhuvneshwar Kumar?
Despite stellar performances in the last two IPL seasons, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been selected even once, nor has he been talked about in the selection panel, nor has he got a chance in the India A team currently touring Sri Lanka. Does this mean that Bhuvi’s time in the India national cricket team is over?
Even though Bhuvneshwar may no longer make it to the senior team, he should have been included in the India A team and performed there, and then come into the team after performing in List A games. However, the 36-year-old is ignored just like Mohammed Shami. Bhuvi has increased his pace and also improved his bowling action.
Why did Prasidh Krishna prefer Bhuvneshwar Kumar?
The BCCI has made forced changes to the upcoming T20 series against Ireland and England as included in the squad Mohammed Siraj will not be a part of any tour after being advised rest by the medical team. Siraj was replaced by his Gujarat Titans (GT) teammate Prasidh Krishna, but he did not have the best IPL season this year.
Questions are being raised on Krishna’s selection whether India has distanced itself from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The only reason for dropping him could be his age, as he is already 36 years old, and by the time India’s next T20 World Cup takes place in 2028, he will be 38 years old, and currently, BCCI’s change policy towards young players has increased, due to which he has been dropped from the team.
BCCI focuses on young talent for the future
The BCCI, instead of focusing on Bhuvi’s comeback, prefers to invest playing time in young bowlers who will be in their prime for future cycles. He usually bowls at a speed of 130-135 km/hr. Team India currently prefers candidates with high pace who can regularly exceed 140-145 km/h across all formats. Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and many others have made it difficult to make a comeback.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s inability to consistently deliver long, multi-over runs in first-class cricket has kept him out of the red-ball calculations, while young death over specialists have occupied the T20I places. However, considering his current form, he should be given chances in bilateral series, and considering his contribution to the national team across all formats, he should be provided a proper farewell from the international format.