He Should Be A Must For England Test: Salman Butt Bats For The Inclusion Of Bhuvneshwar Kumar For England Tests
Published - 01 Jul 2021, 06:29 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:48 AM
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes that Team India must find a way to fly Bhuvneshwar Kumar to England for the upcoming five-match Test series.
India missed the services of a genuine swing bowler in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar during the recent World Test Championship final against New Zealand as none of their pacers could move the ball in the air as compared to the BlackCaps seamers.
Kumar hasn’t played a Test match since January 2018 due to his recurring injury issues and that’s the reason why he wasn’t picked for the tour of England.
He is currently in Sri Lanka where a second-string Indian team will lock horns with the former in three ODIs and as many T20Is.
“I feel Bhuvneshwar Kumar should have been in India. After all, he is the best swing bowler India has. They didn’t even bring him along. The amount of swing and seam that was on offer on this pitch, he should have been there. The fast bowlers who played the final are all ‘hit the deck’ bowlers,” Salman Butt said on Cricket Baaz with Waheed Khan.
Bhuvneshwar has always proved to be an asset for Team India whenever he has played in the UK.
In the 5 Tests that Bhuvi has played in England, he has claimed 19 wickets at an average of 26.63 which includes a couple of five-wicket-hauls.
Bracketing him in the same category as James Anderson, Salman Butt reckoned that India needs to find a way to recall Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the UK for the upcoming five-match series against England.
”In terms of bowlers who release the bowlers and swing it, Bhuvneshwar… he comes in the same category as James Anderson. He is that kind of a bowler. So I thought he would have been better off but again, it’s their team. The know more about the players and think tank. Perhaps they decided what was best for them. But I feel he should have been here and even now he should be a must for England Test,” Butt added.
