Not finished! Bhuvneshwar Kumar is still better than these 30 Indian pacers

Why should Bhuvneshwar Kumar not get a chance to play for Team India again? This question has become more acute after the Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on 27 April. The 36-year-old finished the contest with 3 wickets for 5 runs in 3 overs with an economy rate of 1.67. Any bowler around the world would love to have these kind of stats.

It is important to remember that Bhuvneshwar Kumar had claimed those astonishing figures against Delhi Capitals inside the powerplay, when the batsmen had the freedom to play random high shots over the fielder’s head. Bhuvneshwar Kumar currently leads the bowling figures in the IPL 2026 season with 14 wickets in 8 matches and an economy rate of 7.61. Emerging Indian bowlers like Anshul Kamboj and Prince Yadav, who have received praise for crucial bowling spells with their respective teams, are all behind the RCB fast bowler.

Why does Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserve to play for Team India in T20Is?

In 2025, when Team India faced a challenging situation during the tour of England due to several injuries, the team management called Anshul Kamboj to join the team. A few days after joining the team, he also made his Test debut against the England cricket team in Manchester.

In search of a streamlined fast bowling pack, the selectors tried several combinations. Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Jaydev Unadkat – all got repeated chances to shine for the Men in Blue brigade. The search is on for a backup pacer for every format of international cricket, who can also become Jasprit Bumrah’s partner.

Performance in the Indian Premier League has become one of the criteria for getting a ticket for Team India’s T20I selection. T Natarajan, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel are among the names who went on to play for India after stellar IPL seasons. While the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel was on the lookout for new talent, Kumar has performed well time and again in the league over the years.

Notable bowling stats of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in IPL:

Kumar has been playing IPL since 2011, and in most of the seasons, his economy rate is between 7 to 8, and in most of the seasons, he has taken more than 10 wickets.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar presented unmatched figures in IPL

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s last match for India was a T20I against New Zealand in Napier on November 22, 2022. After that, in 2023, he got 16 wickets, in the IPL 2024 season, he got 11 wickets, in the next season, he got 17 wickets, and in the ongoing campaign, he already has 14 wickets to his name. If the selection panel picks players on the basis of performance, the seamer deserves to be in the team.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar made a statement not with words but with the ball in his bowling spell against Delhi Capitals on April 27, 2026, which will definitely make the selectors think twice before leaving him out of the selection process. it was 20^th The time in IPL when he achieved the bowling figure of 3 wickets. Only Jasprit Bumrah is ahead of him in this matter.

Achievement of taking maximum 3 wickets among fast bowlers in IPL

• 25-Jasprit Bumrah
• 20-Bhuvneshwar Kumar*
• 19 – Lasith Malinga
• 17 – Harshal Patel

Since the 2023 IPL season, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only Indian bowler to have taken 32 wickets in the power play. Mohammad Siraj is close to him with 28 wickets in this particular quarter.

Most wickets in powerplay (from IPL 2023):

• 32-Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
• 32- Trent Boult
• 28- Mohammad Siraj
• 28-Mohammed Shami
• 24- Deepak Chahar
• 24 – Arshdeep Singh

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has opened doors for budding talent across states. Every season, many young stars appear. Among them, some turned into one-season wonders, and some gradually disappeared from the scene. Only a few players are able to pass the grind successfully.

The competition has become more challenging as the current IPL season has mostly turned into a heaven for batsmen and a graveyard for bowlers. Frontline pacers like Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat, Deepak Chahar and many pacers from their respective franchises are struggling to maintain the economy rate as well as take wickets. There was hardly any Indian pacer whose economy rate was below 8.00.

(1-6 overs)
Bhuvi – 405.5 overs, 87 wickets, 6.55 eco
Bumrah – 199.0 overs, 39 wickets, 6.77 eco,

(7-15 overs)
Bhuvi – 73.2 overs, 10 wickets, 8.45 echo
Bumrah – 152.0 overs, 44 wickets, 6.55 eco

(16-20 overs)
Bhuvi – 255.3 overs, 115 wickets, 9.27 eco
Bumrah – 231.1 overs,…

– 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) 27 April 2026

List of 30 notable fast bowlers in IPL 2026 and their respective stats:

Read more: “Followed his lead”: Josh Hazlewood credits bowling partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar after POTM win in DC vs RCB clash