Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra doesn’t see Bhuvneshwar Kumar featuring in India’s playing XI at the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021, given his indifferent form for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).
Bhuvneshwar has looked out of form with the ball in the ongoing IPL 2021, where the seamer has managed only five wickets in nine games for the SRH so far.
In SRH’s last match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the experienced bowler conceded 34 runs, including 13 runs in the penultimate over, in his quota of 4 overs and failed to pick up a wicket, as Hyderabad suffered a 6-wicket loss to Chennai on Thursday, September 30 in Sharjah.
Expressing concern over Bhuvneshwar’s poor form in the IPL 14, Chopra said the swing bowler is unlikely to make it to India's XI in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 if he isn’t showing much form.
Chopra said on his YouTube channel, “I am getting a little concerned about Bhuvneshwar Kumar's form. If the World Cup were to start tomorrow, you would not play Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the XI because the form is just not there.”
The commentator continued, “He is struggling a lot and we have only three fast bowlers in the Indian team – Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvi. Bhuvi was my second choice with Bumrah but at this moment, he is no longer second but has become the third.”
Chopra said the 31-year-old bowler isn’t the same bowler that he used to be and he needs to raise his game quickly, as Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar are already knocking the doors having been named as reserves for the T20 World Cup to be played in the UAE and Oman from October 17.
He signed off by saying, “He is not the same bowler at this point in time. There is a lot of class, they say form is temporary and class is permanent and he will bounce back. Let's hope that he bounces back but at this point in time, he is looking a patch on who he was and it is a sad story.”
