T20 World Cup 2021 Player profile: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a long-term asset for Team India in the shortest format of the game. In a T20 career spanning close to nine years, he has picked up 50 wickets at a superb economy rate of 6.90. Notably, he was the first Indian to take a five-wicket haul in all formats of the game, a feat he achieved at the peak of his powers in early 2018.
Bhuvneshwar's international career has been one of multiple phases. Starting out as a medium pacer who could swing the ball in helpful conditions and keep the runs down regularly, the speedster picked up pace from 2016 onwards to become a lethal bowler in the shorter formats. Over time, he developed the knuckle ball and a number of other variations to fox batsmen at the death too.
Although he has been around for some time, Bhuvneshwar will wear the Indian jersey for only his second T20 World Cup. An Indian Premier League (IPL) winner with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the Uttar Pradesh pacer will hope to play a key role at the international mega-event.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's T20 form in the last 10 games
Bhuvneshwar enters the T20 World Cup under some serious scrutiny regarding his form. In the warm-up game against England on Monday, he was taken to the cleaners with figures of 0/54 from his four overs.
Aakash Chopra opines that Shardul Thakur can replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the he feels that the veteran is not at his 100% at the moment.
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Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, that was just one more poor performance in a lengthy lean run. Bhuvneshwar comes off a disappointing campaign for SRH in the IPL, where the team finished last - his own poor form contributing to that. Playing six games for SRH in the UAE leg of the IPL, Bhuvneshwar managed just three wickets - although he did give SRH a last-ball victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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In the three-match T20 rubber against Sri Lanka, where he was named India's vice-captain, the seamer had a role to play with ball and bat. Starting the series in fine fashion with a four-for, Bhuvneshwar's contribution tailed off with him picking up a single wicket from the next two games as India lost the series.
Why Bhuvneshwar Kumar is crucial to the Indian side
While Jasprit Bumrah, both on recent form and overall record, is a certainty as a strike bowler, India need a control bowler to operate alongside him. In conditions favoring seam bowling, such as in the powerplay, Bhuvneshwar is capable of finding seam movement and swing to trouble batters and produce early wickets.
Although he did go for many in the warm-up game, Bhuvi has been economical throughout his career in this format, due to good control over line and length even when his pace is down. Even on wickets which suit spinners, Bhuvneshwar has enough variations and control to create pressure.
Finally, in the case of a batting collapse, Bhuvneshwar is a solid batter who can hold one end up, even if he does not find the boundaries very frequently. With several of India's top six batters flattering to deceive in the IPL, someone who can reliably rotate strike and get crucial runs down the order will be valuable to the team.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's T20 World Cup record
Bhuvneshwar Kumar played six games for India in the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Although he wasn't able to pick up a lot of wickets - with just three to his name - he was very economical throughout the tournament for India.
In India's second game, against West Indies, Bhuvneshwar went wicketless but bowled a staggeringly economical spell of 3 overs for 3 runs. In the fourth league game against Australia, he had figures of 3 overs, 7 runs and 1 wicket, keeping up with his good form.
Unfortunately, Bhuvneshwar had an unremarkable outing in the all-important final, where India's batting could not put up a strong total. He bowled three wicketless overs for 18 runs as Sri Lanka won their first T20 World Cup.
Although Bhuvneshwar has been economical, India will look for wickets and control from him in the 2021 edition of the tournament - something he delivered day in and day out when in form.