In a major change, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has come forward and revealed that veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be added to the Indian’s squad for the fifth and final T20I of the ongoing series against the West Indies.
It is interesting to note that Kumar returns after a long hiatus from the national team, and he makes a comeback after star pacer Arshdeep Singh was ruled out of the clash due to a blow to his bowling shoulder, as revealed by the BCCI.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar was added to the squad after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth T20I of the series against West Indies on Wednesday in Hyderabad. A decision on his participation for the final T20I will be taken prior to the game based on his recovery,” the BCCI’s release read.
Notably, while Arshdeep Singh has sustained an injury to his bowling shoulder, he has not been ruled out of the clash, and his participation in the final T20I will depend on his recovery.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s incredible comeback
Interestingly, Bhuvneshwar Kumar last played an international cricket match back in November 2022 when he featured against New Zealand. However, he found himself out of contention from selection ever since.
It was his performances in the IPL (Indian Premier League) that earned him a spot in the Indian team once. Representing Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the tournament, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was instrumental in the side lifting their first two IPL titles in 2025 and 2026.
His brilliance at 36 years old saw him added to India’s T20I squad for the New Zealand tour, but due to the injury to Arshdeep, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added as a cover for the star pacer, and it could be interesting to see how he fares in the upcoming clash.
India’s updated T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Sanju Samson [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.