Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to the Indian team’s playing XI after nearly four years for the fifth T20I against West Indies at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The star pacer took his place in the playing XI for the series decider, which has been reduced to a nine-over game due to rain.
Bhuvneshwar’s last appearance for the Indian team was on 22nd November 2022, when the Men in Blue faced New Zealand in a T20I at Napier. In the 1425-day interval between his two outings for the world champions, India have played 104 T20Is.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Sets All-Time Record
Bhuvneshwar now shares the record for the most games missed for India before playing again in a T20I. He has equalled a record pacer Khaleel Ahmed held. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowler had also missed 104 games for India after playing against Bangladesh in 2019 before making a comeback in 2024 against Zimbabwe.
Most Matches For India Between Two T20I Appearances
| Player | Matches Missed | Years |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 104 | 22nd November 2022 to 18th October 2026 |
| Khaleel Ahmed | 104 | 10th November 2019 to 6th July 2024 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | 86 | 5th November 2021 to 6th Ocotber 2024 |
| Sanju Samson | 73 | 19th July 2015 to 10th January 2020 |
| Shivam Dube | 70 | 2nd February 2020 to 18th August 2023 |
Meanwhile, only four players have missed more matches between two T20I appearances for their national team in history. The record is held by Zimbabwe’s Graeme Cremer, who missed 126 matches before making his comeback in November 2025 and making his last appearance in 2018. Among full-member sides, only West Indies’ K Pierre missed more, as the two-time world champions played 110 matches between 2020 and 2025.
Bahrain’s Mohammed Sameer made a comeback after missing 116 games earlier this year, after being out of action for six years. Rwanda’s D Uwimaha was out of action for 109 games between 2021 and 2026.