Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s credentials in international cricket may have dropped in recent years but it goes without saying that he remains an important member of Team Hyderabad in the Indian T20 League.
The UP-born bowler has carved out a name for himself with his deadly inswingers and impeccable death bowling capabilities that are laced with yorkers and slower variations. He has managed to outfox the opposition bigwigs consistently with his perfect execution.
Representing Hyderabad since 2014 in the Indian T20 League, Kumar has taken 139 wickets in 127 matches with a best of 5/19 and is ranked seventh on the all-time list of highest wicket-takers of the competition. He is also the only bowler to win the Purple Cap consecutively when he achieved the feat in 2016 during Hyderabad’s maiden title triumph, and 2017.
The lanky speedster has battled a lot of injuries in the past couple of years and has worked immensely hard to get fit and play again for his franchise and country.
Fellow Indians Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane have fallen prey to him six times, more than any other batsman. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has also found it tough to negotiate Kumar and has been dismissed by him on four occasions.
West Indies superstar Kieron Pollard has also lost his wicket to the swing specialist three times alongside Manish Pandey and Australian great Shane Watson.
The pacer’s next assignment is the upcoming T20 World Cup in October where he will play a pivotal role in India’s quest for the ultimate T20 glory.
Batsmen dismissed most number of times by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in T20 cricket
|
Batsmen |
Dismissals |
|
Parthiv Patel |
6 |
|
Ajinkya Rahane |
6 |
|
Shakib Al Hasan |
4 |
|
Kieron Pollard |
4 |
|
Manish Pandey |
4 |
|
Shane Watson |
4 |
|
Shaun Marsh |
3 |
|
Yusuf Pathan |
3 |
|
Suresh Raina |
3 |
The likes of Shaun Marsh, Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina are some of the other names who have found it hard to play against Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Featured photo : Sajjad Hussain / AFP
