"Selectors Shouldn't Forget Bhuvneshwar Kumar" - Ashish Nehra Feels Pacer Should've Been Considered For SA Tour

Former India National Cricket Team pacer and the current Gujarat Titans (GT) head coach, Ashish Nehra, has opined that the veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar should have been considered for the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa National Cricket Team.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar last played ODI cricket for India on January 21, 2022, against South Africa and his last T20I appearance came on November 22, 2022, against New Zealand. Since then he has been out of India’s scheme of things in limited-overs cricket.

Although the right-arm pacer has been performing quite well for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit, the selectors have ignored his performances and it seems like they have completely moved on from the pacer.

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Speaking on JioCinema, Ashish Nehra stated that one player whom the selection committee should have considered for the white-ball series against South Africa was Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

“I am not at all surprised that the selectors have picked three different teams. Pretty much everyone’s name has come. There might be hardly any player who is there or thereabouts whose name is not there,” he said

“Only one name comes to my mind, because you are going to South Africa, and you have picked a lot of fast bowlers, and that name is Bhuvneshwar Kumar. I understand that you have other new-ball options, you have Arshdeep Singh, and Mukesh Kumar is playing.”

Selectors Should Keep An Eye On Bhuvneshwar Kumar – Ashish Nehra

Nehra further said that Bhuvneshwar brings a lot of experience to the table and he has been delivering consistent performance in domestic cricket. He urged the selection committee not to forget him and keep him in the scheme of things for ODIs and T20Is. He elaborated:

“However, if you see all the options, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is an experienced bowler who I will say is still doing well. The selectors should keep an eye on him. They shouldn’t forget him totally, especially when you talk about T20 and 50-over formats.

“When you talk about white-ball, Bhuvi can fit in any team, especially when he is bowling well, because he does not lack at all in terms of skill and experience. It’s a different thing that he didn’t play against Australia here, but he should be kept in the scheme of things.”

Bhuvneshwar has represented India in 87 T20Is, 121 ODIs, and 21 Tests, picking up 90, 141 and 63 wickets respectively. He is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in T20I cricket.