‘Why not?’: Ashwin makes a strong case for Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to India ahead of the 2027 World Cup

Former India spinner R Ashwin has thrown his weight behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to the national set-up, urging selectors to consider the veteran fast bowler as India prepares for the 2027 ODI World Cup.Ashwin believes India’s current attack lacks the experience required for a major ICC tournament and pointed to Bhuvneshwar’s recent success with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League as evidence that the 36-year-old still has a lot to offer.

Bhuvneshwar has played a key role in RCB’s back-to-back IPL title campaigns, taking 45 wickets over the past two seasons. His consistent performances helped the franchise end its long wait for the trophy before successfully defending the title.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that Bhuvneshwar deserves to be in contention for a place in the World Cup, especially given his fitness and ability to contribute at multiple stages of the game.“Why not? The way our fast bowlers are now, there is some struggle there. I think it is worth considering Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Why can’t you consider him? There is only one difference between Shami and Bhuvneshwar.”

Bhuvi has managed to put himself in the park for two seasons together with RCB and has managed to maintain his fitness. Both RCB teams won the title, and it was also among the top three reasons why.

Seems decent enough. I’m not saying to take it right away, but at least give it a chance and then decide. He can swing the ball, give you overs at the death, and hit a bit too. He has a lot of batting ability,” Ashwin said.The former pacer also wondered whether India’s relatively inexperienced fast bowling unit would be ready for the pressures of a World Cup campaign.

While recognizing the promise shown by younger players, he felt a mix of youth and experience would be a more balanced approach.“Just because of the inexperience in the bowling attack, you can take him into consideration. Gurnor, Prasidh, Prince – is this the bowling you want to play in the World Cup? I’m not quite sure. You can have one or two of those. Apart from that, you have Harshit and Bumrah. So with Bhuvneshwar, experience and youth will work well,” he added.Ashwin also stressed that India should now focus on setting the pace in their attack rather than continuing to experiment, with the World Cup only a year away.According to him, the selectors have already handed out opportunities to several fast bowlers and should now narrow down the starting lineup while keeping Bhuvneshwar firmly in the conversation.“It’s not the time to develop players now 12 months ago. I gave Harshit a chance and it’s important to know his situation now that he’s batting at eight. Gurnur and Prasidh got chances. But you can’t remove them and bring in more bowlers now. It’s important to decide who the four or five players are, and out of them you will take three for the World Cup. That’s why you have to have someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the discussions as well,” he explained.