Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back, four years on, with the 2027 World Cup in view

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back, four years on, with the 2027 World Cup in view India recall the 36-year-old seamer for the T20I tour of New Zealand, and ask whether his body can take the load of ODI cricket again.

Key points

• 5 min read Chennai Updated: Oct 6, 2026 11: 12 PM IST.
• The decision to include Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the T20I squad for tour of New Zealand might have come out of the blue.
• It is close to four years since Bhuvneshwar last played for India.

What happened

5 min read Chennai Updated: Oct 6, 2026 11: 12 PM IST. Bhuvneshwar Kumar in action. (FILE photo).

Notably, the decision to include Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the T20I squad for tour of New Zealand might have come out of the blue. But the call-up has been gathering pace over the last three months, particularly after the 36-year-old's IPL 2026, where he took 28 wickets and finished one behind Kagiso Rabada in the race for the purple cap. After Harshit Rana picked up an injury again, that Bhuvneshwar's name began doing the rounds, it was during the tour of the UK.

It is close to four years since Bhuvneshwar last played for India. It was not a case of him suddenly losing his place: his last Test was in January 2018, his last ODI in January 2022, and by November that year he was out of the T20I set-up as well. In the domestic circuit, his appearances of late have been limited to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and the IPL, where he has bowled Royal Challengers Bengaluru to successive titles. The India call-up still appeared far-fetched.

The bottom line

In short, bhuvneshwar Kumar is back, four years on, with the 2027 World Cup is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.