Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has praised the BCCI selectors for showing the courage to bring back Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the Indian squad for the T20I series in New Zealand. The ace Uttar Pradesh pacer last played for India in 2022 in the white-ball format and lost his place due to form and fitness issues.
With the best bowling stats of 5/4, Kumar has taken 90 wickets for India in 87 T20Is at an economy of 6.96. In all three international formats, he was the first bowler from India to collect five wickets.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has concentrated on white-ball cricket in local competitions like the IPL and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy since being cut from the Indian squad. In the 2025 and 2026 seasons, he played a key role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic back-to-back IPL victories.
Dinesh Karthik, who has worked closely with Bhuvneshwar Kumar as his India teammate and is now in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where Karthik is the batting coach, lauded Kumar’s comeback, saying that he has earned his India recall.
"It's taken four years to pick him back in that Indian team. Firstly, well done, selectors, to have the courage to pick someone. Team India in the last year, they have tried all pacers. But if you actually look purely at skill, Bhuvi has been exceptional,” Karthik said in a video on his Instagram.
"The quality that he brings is brilliant. He can bowl with a new ball and swing it both ways, and then at the death, he can handle pressure. I just genuinely wish he goes out there and enjoys the rest of the time that he plays international cricket. He deserves it purely on performance,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar was also made the captain of the Indian team for the upcoming Hong Kong Sixes tournament.
"I am so, so happy, and it couldn't happen to a nicer man. When I saw you in the Hong Kong Sixes, I thought, 'Okay, captain of the Indian team, fantastic.' Now this news is even better," Karthik said.
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