Three years out of the Indian team. Four years since his last ODI.
Thirty-six years old. Twenty-one wickets in eleven IPL games.
Purple Cap leader.
Four wickets against Mumbai Indians in Raipur with a six off the final ball to finish it.
And suddenly, the entire Indian cricket conversation has shifted to a question nobody was asking six months ago: is Bhuvneshwar Kumar back?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar IPL 2026 Stats: Why Everyone Is Talking Again
Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his outstanding form with the ball and picked four wickets for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 match against Mumbai Indians in Raipur. The 36-year-old seamer is leading the wicket charts with 21 wickets and is the current holder of the Purple Cap. This is the fourth time he has taken 20-plus wickets in an IPL season.
In IPL 2026, the 36-year-old has featured in 11 matches, taking 21 wickets at an economy rate of 7.46 and an impressive bowling average of 15.28. He has taken 12 wickets in the powerplay with an economy rate of 6.91.
He won the Purple Cap twice before, first in 2016 and then in 2017, remaining the only bowler to win consecutive Purple Caps, taking 23 wickets in 2016 and 26 in 2017. He also holds the all-time IPL record for the most dot balls bowled with 1,793.
These are not the numbers of a bowler on a hot streak. These are the numbers of a craftsman operating at the peak of his understanding of the game.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar ODI and T20I International Career Record
Bhuvneshwar Kumar ODI Career Stats
- 121 ODI matches played, 141 wickets taken at a bowling average of 35.11 and an economy of 5.08 runs per over. Best figures: 5 for 42.
- Reached 100 ODI wickets in January 2019 against Australia in the first ODI of that series.
- Named in India’s squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup but ruled out of several matches due to a leg injury.
- Picked up 4 for 8 against Sri Lanka in a tri-series game in the Caribbean in 2013, finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets in four games in that tournament.
- Was a vital part of India’s 2013 ICC Champions Trophy-winning squad and named in the Team of the Tournament by the ICC.
- Last ODI for India: January 2022 against South Africa.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar T20I Career Stats
- 87 T20I matches played, 90 wickets taken at a bowling average of 23.10 and an economy of 6.96 runs per over. Best figures: 5 for 4.
- Boasts a highly economical T20I career economy rate of 6.96, one of the best among Indian seamers across any generation.
- In February 2018, became the second Indian bowler to take five wickets in a T20I, doing so against South Africa in Johannesburg.
- In 2022, went one better with figures of 5 for 4 against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, his career-best T20I figures.
- Holds the unique distinction of being the first Indian to register five-wicket hauls in Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
- Last T20I for India: November 2022 against New Zealand.
When Did Bhuvneshwar Kumar Last Play for India?
Bhuvneshwar last played for India in a T20I series against New Zealand in November 2022 and eventually vanished from the team. His place came under the scanner after India’s crushing 10-wicket defeat in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final to England at the Adelaide Oval, where he returned with figures of 2-0-25-0. He played in the subsequent series against New Zealand but managed only one wicket in two games.
For the record, Bhuvneshwar last played an ODI match in January 2022 against South Africa. He has not featured for India in any format since November 2022, which makes it almost four years of absence from international cricket.
R Ashwin Backs Bhuvneshwar Kumar for India T20I Return
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to make his comeback for the Indian team in T20Is after his heroics in IPL 2026. Speaking on JioHotstar, Ashwin lauded Bhuvneshwar for his match-winning performance against Mumbai Indians and batted for his comeback for Team India in the shortest format.
Ashwin’s support matters because he is one of the sharpest analytical voices in Indian cricket and someone who picks his moments. When he says publicly that a player deserves a second look, selectors listen. Fans have also demanded the right-arm seamer be included in the limited-overs squads moving forward. The public conversation and the expert conversation have arrived at the same place at the same time.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Bowling Skill: What Makes Him Different at 36
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of India’s premier swing bowlers, renowned for his elite death-bowling. Internationally, he has claimed 294 wickets and holds the unique distinction of being the first Indian to register five-wicket hauls in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. He was a vital part of India’s 2013 ICC Champions Trophy-winning squad and boasts a highly economical T20I career rate of 6.96.
What makes his IPL 2026 numbers so compelling is not just the wickets but how he is taking them. He is not relying on raw pace. He is using variations, seam position, change of length and the ability to swing the old ball in the death that very few seamers in world cricket can replicate at any age. At 36, he has replaced what pace he has lost with something more valuable: the kind of skill that takes fifteen years to develop and cannot be taught in any academy.
India’s T20I Pace Bowling: Is There a Spot for Bhuvneshwar?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s absence saw India fill the gap with Mohammed Siraj and pace veteran Mohammed Shami, alongside rising talents like Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh. The competition for pace bowling spots in the Indian T20I setup has never been more intense. Jasprit Bumrah remains the first name on any team sheet. Arshdeep Singh has made the new ball his own. Hardik Pandya contributes as an allround option.
With India set to tour Ireland and England for T20Is in June, Bhuvneshwar could be in line for a comeback. The English conditions, where the ball swings from the first over and seam movement continues deep into an innings, are precisely the conditions where Bhuvneshwar has historically been the most dangerous. A tour to England for a bowler who won the 2013 Champions Trophy playing a key role there is not the worst gamble in the world.
Can Bhuvneshwar Kumar Make the ODI World Cup 2027 Squad?
This is the harder question. After his impressive show in IPL 2026, the discussion about his comeback to the national team has become a hot topic. However, selectors cannot consider him in India’s long-term plans as he has turned 36 years old. He has a few years left in his career, and even if he makes a comeback to the national side, he won’t be able to play for long.
The 2027 World Cup is set to take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The grounds call for the swing star Bhuvi. However, given the current dynamics of the team, the chances of him featuring in the ODI squad are bleak. Bhuvi is currently 36 years old and has been out of the national setup for almost four years.
The mathematics of age and availability are not kind. By the time the ODI World Cup 2027 begins, he will be 37. India’s selectors are building a squad that is expected to function for the next six to eight years, and investing in a 37-year-old seamer, however skilled, does not align with that cycle.
What Bhuvneshwar Kumar Himself Said About an India Comeback
Playing in the UP T20 league, Bhuvneshwar Kumar made a bold statement about his future. He said: “I am not playing just to make a comeback. I am doing what is needed to play good cricket. There might be a chance to make a comeback. But that is not my focus. Whatever format or league I play in, I want to contribute. If things fall into place, I can make a comeback, but that is not my sole focus now.”
That is the statement of a professional who has understood exactly how to survive and thrive at the highest level for fourteen years. No desperation. No politics. Just bowling. Just wickets. Just letting the ball do the talking at 7.46 economy and 15.28 average in the most watched T20 league on the planet.
The Verdict: T20I Comeback Yes, World Cup 2027 Unlikely
The honest answer has two parts. A T20I return for the England series in June 2026 is genuinely possible. India needs experienced seamers who can swing the ball in English conditions, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the best swing bowler in the country right now based purely on IPL 2026 evidence. Selectors who ignore 21 wickets at 15.28 average are making a statement of intent that would be very hard to justify publicly.
The ODI World Cup 2027 squad is a different calculation. By that point, India will need to field a bowling attack capable of defending and taking wickets across four to five tournaments over the next cycle. Bhuvneshwar’s skill is undeniable. His age and the four-year absence from international cricket are the two factors that will ultimately keep him out of that conversation.
But right now, in May 2026, in an IPL where he is the leading wicket-taker and is outbowling pace bowlers ten years his junior? The conversation is absolutely valid. And Bhuvneshwar Kumar has earned every word of it.
Lucky Raina is a complete cricket writer chasing corporate dreams by day and cricket stories by night. Once a promising Under 16 cricketer, life took him down a different pitch but the love for the game never left.
