India lost the ODI series 0-3 in South Africa.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra on Sunday (January 23) said that seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t looked sharp in last 18 months in his role and is likely to miss the upcoming white-ball series.
His comments came after India’s 0-3 defeat in the ODI series against South Africa. Bhuvneshwar showed poor form in the first ODI, giving 64 runs for no wickets and then conceded 67 runs in just 8 overs in the 2nd ODI. He was then dropped from the XI in the final ODI at Cape Town.
Bhuvneshwar failed to trouble the South African batters with the new ball as well as the old ball. The visitors were really in a bad shape with the ball and lost the series.
The pacer was successful in picking 9 wickets in the last 7 ODIs he played in 2 years. His performance in T20Is hasn’t been remarkable either, taking 20 wickets in 21 matches with an economy rate of over 7 runs per over. He also suffered from injuries in the recent past.
"India's white-ball bowling needs to be remodelled; you need to change a few things around. In this shape and form, it's just not cutting it with regards to picking wickets or even staying economical," Chopra told Star Sports after India lost the ODI series 0-3 in South Africa.
Deepak Chahar and Prasidh Krishna replaced Bhuvneshwar and Shardul Thakur in the 3rd ODI. The two pacers successfully took 5 wickets among each other and also restricted South Africa to 287 runs. Deepak also played a crucial knock of 54 runs that helped India to reach close to the target.
Chopra mentioned that Bhuvneshwar losing his spot in the upcoming series has nothing to do with the other new talents coming in and picking wickets, adding that the senior pacer hasn’t been at his best.
"Well, not because Deepak Chahar has bowled or batted well today (in the 3rd ODi). It looks like Bhuvneshwar needs a break. He can't walk into the time the next time India is playing white-ball cricket. As simple as that. That has very little to do with what Deepak or Prasidh Krishna has done,
"Bhuvneshwar hasn't been sharp or incisive in the last 16-20 months.
"So it's a good thing that Deepak Chahar has gotten an opportunity and picked up a couple of wickets. But he still hasn't bowled at the death. He has to bowl for long enough, bowl in different conditions and against different batters.
"Bhuvneshwar Kumar, I don't see him getting picked in the near future in white-ball cricket. 50 overs or 20 overs," Chopra added.