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Follow UsBhuvneshwar Kumar’s career is perhaps the biggest ‘what-if’ story in Indian cricket. The what-if that could have sealed his position as one of the greatest Indian swing bowlers.
His career also doubles up as a big life lesson: life is not always going to be kind. The Meerut-born bowler is just 32 but his career has seen so many downs that the next game can also be his last game. Even then, at 32, he continues to surprise us. This year more than ever.
On his debut against Pakistan, Bhuvneshwar showed the first glimpse of the swing show when he dismissed Nasir Jamshed, taking the stump out for a walk for the first time in his international career. He announced himself in the best fashion possible, putting out a masterclass on swing bowling and control.
Ten years later, Bhuvneshwar is still India’s best swing-bowler. But what makes the Uttar Pradesh seamer highly potent?
An early jolt to the opposition
Much of Bhuvneshwar’s success stems from his ability to strike early. Hand him the new-ball in any format and the result will be an early inroad for his team. Bowling at the 130kmph pace, the right-arm seamer gets the ball to talk pretty much early on in the innings.
In the history of T20 cricket, only Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir has struck more in the first over than Bhuvneshwar. The Meerut-born pacer has picked up 34 wickets in his first-overs, averaging just 22.5, with an economy rate of just 4.9. And in the Indian Premier League, Bhuvneshwar has picked up the most first-over wickets, striking 20 times.
While not only being a first-over monster, Bhuvneshwar possesses the ability to dominate the proceedings in the first six overs. In the history of IPL, no bowler has picked up more powerplay wickets than the UP pacer, with 55 wickets, bowling 1002 dot balls.
Miserly and mighty
Apart from being a proven wicket-taker, 32-year-old’s ability to keep a lid on the runs is highly effective in the shortest format, creating opportunities for the other bowlers. It is one of the integral parts of T20 cricket that goes under the radar. In IPL’s history, no bowler has a better economy rate than the Meerut-born in the first six overs.
In fact, the right-arm seamer only concedes 6 RPO in the powerplay, a phase where teams generally feast on the fielding restrictions. Since IPL 2021, even when he wasn’t amongst the wickets, the Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer only conceded 6.1 RPO in the powerplay, which is .3 better than his nearest competitor Mohammed Shami.
Unlike other new ball bowlers in the country, Bhuvneshwar also possesses the ability to close out innings, as highlighted by the former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli.
“If you see the game that we [Royal Challengers] played against Sunrisers, the last game (2021), where he had to close out the game against AB de Villiers, probably one of the two or three most destructive lower-order finishers in the T20 game...
"It explained or spoke volumes of what experience Bhuvi brings on the field, whenever we play - just the understanding of hitting the areas, according to the dimensions of the field, and what balls to bowl at what time,” said Kohli prior to the World T20 in the Middle East.
A 2022 to savour for Bhuvneshwar
Bhuvneshwar’s career is one that has been filled by more intangibles than tangibles. Since his debut in 2012, only thrice has the right-arm seamer played ten T20Is in a calendar year for India. The previous two occasions – 2018 and 2021 – yielded success for the Indian pacer, picking up 24 wickets.
But mid-way through the series, the veteran was dropped from the playing XI, bringing his international career to a temporary halt. And when an international career comes to a halt at the age of 31, some say it is as good as over.
Combine that with the dismal IPL season that he had in 2021 and the rise of Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar was far away from being the prime contender for a place in the Indian playing XI. It was the same fate which took everything from Bhuvneshwar and returned to give him all that was lost.
2022 is the year where Bhuvneshwar has played joint-most T20Is for India, with 12 appearances. The UP pacer has bowled the most overs in T20Is in 2022, with 41 overs, where he averages just 16.29, his third-best numbers since debut.
Alongside that, the right-arm seamer has picked up 17 wickets alone this year, making it his best year in T20Is, conceding just 6.75 RPO.
What has made Bhuvneshwar so effective in 2022?
“And luckily, I know I came back and (I’m) playing for India again. Of course, I was backed by the captain and the coach,” reflected Bhuvneshwar after the second T20I against England.
In 2022, Bhuvneshwar’s average pace has been 131, 4kmph more than what he was bowling in 2021 when he returned from injury. While he has stuck by his tried and tested length, he has yielded more success this year than he had in the previous two years. Across 42 overs in 2021, the right-arm seamer only managed six wickets, conceding 8 RPO, at an average of 55.8.
One of Bhuvneshwar’s strength as a bowler is hitting the 6m-8m length, where he makes the ball do the talking. Unlike previous years, the right-arm seamer has hit those lengths more consistently this year, bowl 243 deliveries out of his 340 deliveries.
In that 6-8m length, Bhuvneshwar has picked up 12 wickets, averaging just 20.3, picking up a wicket every 4.1 deliveries. His ability to consistently hit the line and length along with an increase in pace has ultimately resulted in the right-arm seamer extracting more from the pitches.
"I think it's the simplicity with which he goes about his business [that makes him special]. The control he has, the variations he has, and to execute those variations in high-pressure games, it just shows how confident he is,” said Jaffer on ESPNCricinfo in the same show as Steyn.
Bhuvneshwar’s career has been hamstrung by injuries but what makes him special is his simplicity. And, it is this simplicity that new-ball bowlers have yearned for years in the white-ball format.
