Bhuvneshwar Kumar was one of the positives coming out for the India during their drawn T20Is series against South Africa. Kumar was the second-highest wicket-taker in the series as he troubled the batters in the powerplay. His performance came at the back of only 12 wickets in 14 games of the Indian T20 League 2022. The team management will be jubilant with the 20-20 World Cup approaching in the next few months.
Praising Kumar, former South Africa wicketkeeper batter and current head coach, Mark Boucher that the right-arm medium pacer was special in the series. Boucher pointed out that barring the first game, the Uttar Pradesh player didn’t gave them an inch whether in the powerplay or in the death overs. Kumar took six wickets in four games with the last game being abandoned due to rain.
“Bhuvi was special in this whole series as we came up against some quality bowling. He put us under pressure in Powerplays and barring one game (Delhi), where we got off to a good start, they have dominated us with both ball and bat in Powerplays,” Boucher said after the series ended in 2-2 despite Proteas going 2-0 up at the onset.
The 2013 Champions Trophy winner had an astonishing strike rates (14), average (14.16), and economy rate (6.07). These performances will certainly help the Meerut-born player. Last year, he had went in the 20-20 World Cup but failed miserably. In fact, in the last few years, he has been troubled by the injuries. After the injuries, it is observed that he takes his time to get back into the rythem.
He would be hoping for his elevation in the team and get selected for the ODI and T20I assignments against England and the West Indies in the next couple of months. Also, he would be hoping for the selection in the longest format of the game. The 32-year-old last played a Test match in 2018 against England. Since then, he has been out of the team due to injuries.
