Ashwin shares reasons for Bhuvneshwar's struggle in NZ T20Is, says his 'chapter is maybe closed'

Former India spinner Ravi Ashwin believes that veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's fairytale return to the India T20I side may have ended. The comments came after Kumar, 36, ended up giving away 180 runs in the four matches he played during the five-T20I series and took only one wicket. India, nonetheless, won the series 3-2 after winning the first three matches on the trot. Kumar had been recalled to the Indian T20I squad exactly after four years on the back of his performance in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where he helped win two back-to-back titles.

Ashwin says Bhuvi's comeback is over

"Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t bowled that well; he didn’t prove his form," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. "There was a night and day difference between his IPL form and here (New Zealand series). I think that chapter is maybe closed. It’s very difficult. How will he come back?" he added.

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Expanding on his opinion, Ashwin explained why Bhuvneshwar, who has the most wickets for a pacer (226) in IPL history, struggled: "Leave performance, leave giving extra runs. It’s not that. What was disappointing, I felt, was the way he bowls in the IPL – the intensity, his run-up speed was lower, and his bowling speed was also lower. That tells me maybe he didn’t come in prime training form for this series."

What next for Bhuvneshwar?

Kumar, who is already 36, is unlikely to feature for India in the next T20I series, which is against Sri Lanka at home, later in December. Bhuvneshwar's lackluster performance, however, isn't expected to impact his place with RCB in the IPL. The franchises are expected to announce their list of retained players by November 17, with the auction set to take place on December 16 in Goa. It would be the last mini-auction before the big shuffle ahead of IPL 2028, in which the majority of players will be part of the auction.