Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bagging the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar is always a bowler’s dream and success against him is bound to give you instant recognition and something similar happened with the boy from Meerut, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At the age of 19, Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first-ever bowler to dismiss the legendary batsman for a duck in the Ranji Trophy. Suddenly everyone started talking about Bhuvneshwar and he was fast-tracked into the national team. 

Meeting Tendulkar in the lift ahead of the match and then getting his wicket was a once in a lifetime moment for Bhuvi. The out and out-swing bowler gave credit to his skipper Mohammad Kaif for a unique field placement which helped him bag the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. Having played for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit for five years, Bhuvneshwar finally managed to break into the national side in 2012 for the limited-overs series against Pakistan. 

Not many would forget his debuts in both formats. In his T20I debut, Bhuvneshwar was just too hot to handle for the Pakistani top order. He literally made the ball talk with his prodigious swing. The ball was hooping around the Pakistan batsmen was just bamboozled by the new sensational. He bagged a 3 wicket haul but it wasn’t enough to take India to victory. However, Bhuvneshwar had made an immediate impact on the international circuit. 

He had a memorable ODI debut as well as breached Mohammad Hafeez’s defense is the very first delivery of his ODI career. A big inswinger which came back sharply into Hafeez and disturbed his timbers was the beginning of something very special. Ever since his debut, Bhuvneshwar has gone onto establish himself as a potent weapon for India, especially in the limited-overs format. 

Since his debut, Bhuvneshwar slowly but steadily became the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack. When he burst onto the scene, Bhuvneshwar was an out and out-swing bowler. However, in recent years, Bhuvneshwar has bowled at almost 140 clicks, and his panache to bowl Yorkers and slower deliveries at will makes him a potent weapon in whichever team he plays for. 

Bhuvneshwar made his Test debut in the 2013 Border Gavaskar Trophy. He bagged 6 wickets in 4 matches and showed his batting skills when he stitched a match-winning partnership with MS Dhoni in the opening Test. He stayed at the crease with Dhoni which allowed the latter to become the first and only Indian wicket-keeper batsman to smash a Test double century. 

Bhuvneshwar has been in and out of the Test side. Owing to a big pool of fast bowlers, Bhuvneshwar has found it difficult to cement his place in the longest format. However, he continues to be in and around the radar for his ability to swing the ball. In favorable conditions, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a go-to option for his captain. 

He was part of the victorious Champions Trophy squad in 2013 and was also named in the Team of the tournament. He was very impressive throughout the tournament bagging 6 wickets in 5 matches. In the following years, Bhuvneshwar started growing as a bowler and went onto lead the bowling attack in the limited-overs format. 

Like any other pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s career has also been marred by injuries. He has to miss quite a few games owing to injuries. After a good start of the 2020 IPL, he has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament after sustaining a thigh muscle strain while bowling the 19th over against the Chennai Super Kings. 

Ever since donning the orange, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the go-to bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was picked by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009 but failed to play a single match in that edition. He ended up playing alone matches in the Champions League. He was released by RCB and was then snapped up by the now-defunct Pune Warriors India. He proved to be a shining light for the Warriors in an otherwise dismal season for them. 

It was in the 2014 Auctions that SRH acquired his services and since then he has been an indispensable part of the unit. He played a major role in SRH’s triumphant campaign in 2016 bagging 23 wickets in 17 matches. Bhuvneshwar went a notch higher in the next season when he finished as the leading wicket-taker with 26 scalps.