Former India opener and now commentator Virender Sehwag has thrown his weight behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar, urging the BCCI to reconsider his place in the national setup and calling him the “swing king” worth bringing back to international cricket.
In his latest appearance versus the Gujarat Titans on April 30, 2026, Bhuvneshwar produced a standout spell for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), finishing with figures of 3/28. During that burst, he also crossed a major landmark by becoming the first Indian fast bowler to reach 350 wickets in T20 cricket. After taking three wickets, he returned to the summit of the Purple Cap standings, accumulating 17 wickets from nine matches so far in the 2026 season. He has already delivered five three-wicket hauls this year, including back-to-back breakthroughs against Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans. Earlier in the campaign, he also became the first fast bowler in IPL history to register 200 wickets.
While Bhuvneshwar has remained a dependable presence in the IPL, the recognition he deserved had been missing after he fell out of India’s plans in 2022. Since then, he has steadily rebuilt his standing, playing a key role in RCB’s title-winning run during his debut season with the franchise in IPL 2025, before carrying the momentum forward into IPL 2026. He is currently leading the Purple Cap race with an economy rate of 7.54, a particularly notable figure given that even leading strike bowlers have found it difficult to keep scoring rates under control.
Sehwag’s endorsement came after Bhuvneshwar’s impressive showing against the Gujarat Titans, where he almost swung the contest in RCB’s favour while defending a total of 156. With the ball, he struck early and kept applying pressure, returning 3 for 28 and removing several important top-order names, including Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and Jos Buttler.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems to be the best bowler in this lot. He has made 2-3 outs in the match, and even today he made three and has made the match for RCB. Sometimes I think, what is his age? If he is 35-36 years old, so what? If he is producing big performances, he should think about his comeback in the T20 format, or the selectors should think about it. Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar used to have a combination—can they make that combination again? He bowls well with both new and old balls,” Sehwag said.
Sehwag also added that the quality of Bhuvneshwar’s bowling still looks sharp, especially against elite batting line-ups. “I enjoyed watching Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s old game today. I could see the sharpness in his game. He is playing against the top batters. It’s not like he is playing well against one or two good teams; he is playing against all the strong teams. I enjoyed watching him play—you can call Bhuvneshwar Kumar a vintage. You never know,” he said.
As the 2026 season progresses, Bhuvneshwar’s form has kept him firmly at the top of the Purple Cap race, and the latest praise from Sehwag has reignited calls for his return to India’s T20 plans.
