Bhuvneshwar Kumar recalled for New Zealand T20Is after 4 years; Dhruv Jurel to lead India 'A'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Bhuvneshwar Kumar recalled for New Zealand T20Is after 4 years; Dhruv Jurel to lead India 'A'")
Bhuvneshwar recalled for NZ T20Is after 4 years; Dhruv Jurel to lead India 'A' Photograph: (AFP)
Veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar earns a surprise recall to India’s T20I squad for the New Zealand series after 4 years, while Dhruv Jurel is named India 'A' captain. Check out the full squads here.
Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been recalled to the India squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand starting October 24. The right-arm swing bowler has returned to the T20I side four years after his last appearance, with current premier quick Jasprit Bumrah rested. Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana are also absent from the 16-man squad picked late on Tuesday (Oct 6). While attacking opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has retained his place, Naman Dhir, who made his India debut during the final ODI against the West Indies, has also been picked. Varun Chakravarthy has also been called up.
India Squad for New Zealand T20Is –
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav
Meanwhile, keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel will lead the India ‘A’ squad for three unofficial multi-day matches in New Zealand. Several Test regulars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan and Rishabh Pant have been included, with uncapped Ravichandran Smaran also earning a deserving call-up.
Also read| Shreyas Iyer’s maiden T20I hundred powers India to 8-wicket win over West Indies in Lucknow
Amongst the quicks, the Pragyan Ojha-led selection committee picked Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Kumar and Test candidate Akash Deep.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
India ‘A’ squad for New Zealand series –
Dhruv Jurel (captain), Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Smaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Mukesh Choudhary, Yash Rathod, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar
Bhuvneshwar is back after 4 years
Having last played for India in November 2022 against New Zealand in a T20I game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar earned a surprising call-up to the Indian team for the upcoming five-match T20I series. However, his inclusion as the leader of the pack hasn’t been the most shocking call, as the BCCI selectors considered his IPL 2026 performances, wherein he returned with 28 wickets in RCB’s triumphant campaign.
At 36, Bhuvneshwar has already featured in 87 T20Is, picking up 90 wickets at an average of 23.10 and an economy of 6.96.
Should he get a chance during the New Zealand T20Is, Bhuvneshwar will become the third-oldest specialist bowler to play for India in international cricket after Ashish Nehra (38 years and 186 days) and Shute Banerjee (37 years and 124 days).
Mystery spinner Varun has also returned to the T20I squad after missing all action since suffering a side strain in the T20I series opener against Afghanistan in September.
Meanwhile, India’s pace attack also includes newcomers Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav and seasoned quick Arshdeep Singh, with no signs of Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Nitish Kumar Reddy finds a place in the squad in the absence of Pandya, who continues his recovery at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.
