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Bhuvneshwar-Kumar
India's blue-chip pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been excluded from the Test squad for the ICC WTC Final and five-match Test series in England. His omission from the Test squad has raised several questions. However, a new report claims that the seamer doesn't want to play Test cricket anymore. Bhuvneshwar Kumar stated that he only wants to focus on white-ball cricket for the time being. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has featured in only 21 Tests, where he has scalped 63 wickets. His last Test appearance was during India's 63-run victory against South Africa in the Johannesburg match in early 2018. Back then, the bowler returned with the Man-of-the-Match award, with 63 runs and 4 wickets overall.
The Uttar Pradesh bowler recently made a roaring international comeback during the white-ball series against England. In three ODIs, he claimed six wickets at an average of 22.90. He also picked up four scalps in five T20Is at 28.75. However, the 31-year-old could not bowl much in IPL 2021 for Sunrisers Hyderabad as a minor injury kept him out of the last few matches of the now-postponed tournament.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's exclusion from the team would come as a significant setback for team India
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's omission from the Test squad was surprising because of his impressive bowling record in the English conditions. During the 2014 tour, he grabbed 19 wickets from five games. This is the most by any Indian bowler in a series on English soil. His brilliant efforts also included a career-best 6/82 at Lord's that led team India to their only win in the series. Kumar's exclusion from the team would come as a significant setback for the BCCI as he is considered one of the best pacers in the country. Thus, it would be interesting to see if the officials can convince Bhuvneshwar to play red-ball cricket once again.
In March, Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the Player of the Month award for his superb show in the recently concluded series against England. The 31-year-old seamer picked up six wickets with an economy rate of 4.65 in the three ODIs. Bhuvneshwar also picked up four wickets with a fantastic economy rate of 6.38 in the five T20Is to emerge as the standout bowler in the white ball series. He became the third consecutive Indian recipient of the award since its inception early this year. Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team will next play New Zealand in the maiden WTC Final on June 18 at Southampton.