"It seems like a roadblock has come" - Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar's international career
Aakash Chopra reckons Bhuvneshwar Kumar's international career might have hit a roadblock, considering he has not been picked for India lately.
Bhuvneshwar wasn't a part of India's squad for the recently concluded T20I series against Australia. The swing bowler hasn't been picked in any of the squads for the upcoming multi-format tour of South Africa either.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked about his thoughts on Bhuvneshwar Kumar's career and whether the Indian team's doors are closed for him, to which he replied (2:15):
"I and you won't decide his career because we are not the selectors, and who are we to say whether it's over or a long career is left? It's not looking good in the current scenario. It seems like a roadblock has come."
The former India opener pointed out that the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) seamer has been ignored despite decent performances in IPL 2023 and this season's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He said:
"You are not getting opportunities. You had a decent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and a decent IPL as well but you are not getting picked anywhere. It was decided long back that they won't pick him in ODIs but now they are not picking him for T20Is also."
Bhuvneshwar, with 16 scalps in 14 games, was SRH's highest wicket-taker in the last edition of the IPL. The Uttar Pradesh bowler was the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, accounting for 16 dismissals in seven matches at an excellent economy rate of 5.84.
"It seems like the selectors have started looking in other directions" - Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar being ignored
Aakash Chopra reckons the Indian selectors might have started to look beyond Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He elaborated:
"So it seems like the selectors have started looking in other directions and there are options. It is actually a praiseworthy thing about Indian cricket that you always have so many options available that you say you can go with someone else."
The reputed commentator added that even Umran Malik is not getting chances because of the plethora of pace-bowling options available. He stated:
"So Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and then you forget Umran Malik, whom you played matches four months ago. So this is the reality of Indian cricket. So for Bhuvi, you get the drift."
Bhuvneshwar, with 90 scalps in 87 games, is India's second-highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket. However, he doesn't seem to be in the selectors' thoughts currently, especially considering the seam-bowling riches at their disposal.