A top BCCI official has said that Bhuvneshwar Kumar will not be pushed to play Test cricket before the T20 World Cup. He added that the board has already had a discussion with the Meerut fast bowler and he has to play a few first-class games else there could be a chance of a breakdown.
It was back in January 2018 that Kumar last donned the Indian Test jersey. The Meerut-born fast bowler made the South African batsmen dance to his swing and seam as he picked up 10 wickets at an average of 20.30 in two Test matches on that tour. In fact, in the third Test that India won, he won the player of the match award as he scored 63 runs in two innings and took four wickets.
However, since then, constant injuries and fitness concerns have kept Bhuvneshwar out of the Test side. He was even left out of the squad for the World Test Championship final and the five-match Test series in England, which came as a big surprise.
Now, Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav are being looked upon as replacements. Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Avesh Khan have been ruled out of the tour with their respective injuries. According to TOI, it is learnt that Bhuvneshwar’s name as a replacement player was also thrown around for discussion. However, the board has concluded that a call on the 31-year-old’s future in Test cricket will be taken after the upcoming T20 World Cup.
A top board official said that there has been a discussion with Bhuvneshwar, and he won’t be rushed back into the Test side. The Meerut fast bowler needs to play a few first-class games else there could be a chance of a breakdown.
“The board had a discussion with Bhuvneshwar. It has been decided that he won’t be pushed to play Test cricket before the T20 World Cup. He has to first play three-four First-Class games. He hasn’t played a longer format for over three years. There’s a chance of him breaking down if he suddenly resumes playing Test cricket,”
a top official from the BCCI was quoted saying to TOI.
Hence, with the T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in October-November, Bhuvneshwar might need to feature in a few Ranji games after the showpiece event. India are scheduled to tour South Africa in December-January, and a decision is likely to be taken before that.
