Bhuvneshwar Kumar's comeback to India's T20I team has been preponed, with the experienced pacer added to the squad for the fifth and final game of the ongoing series against the West Indies, which will be played on Saturday, October 16, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Bhuvneshwar has been added to the squad as an injury cover for Arshdeep Singh, who faced a shoulder blow in the Hyderabad game.
Notably, Bhuvneshwar was supposed to make a comeback to the Indian dressing room for the tour of New Zealand, starting October 22, but an injury scare to his teammate has proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Meerut-born medium pacer. It is, however, to be noted that Arshdeep isn't completely ruled out of the match, but Bhuvneshwar has joined the team in case the left-arm pacer fails to show full fitness.
"Bhuvneshwar Kumar was added to the squad after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth T20I of the series against West Indies on Wednesday in Hyderabad. A decision on his participation for the final T20I will be taken prior to the game based on his recovery," the BCCI stated in an official release on Friday.
With the series tied at 2-2, the veteran bowler will look to make it memorable by delivering a match-winning spell if he gets named in the playing XI. The match could also prove to be a much-needed game day for Bhuvneshwar given the context of the all-important away tour against the BlackCaps.
In an interesting turn of events, Bhuvneshwar has made his India comeback at the same venue that serves as the home ground for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, his IPL franchise. Bhuvneshwar rejoined RCB in the Indian Premier League since the 2025 season, bowling remarkable spells throughout to help the team lift its maiden trophy. He followed it up with 28 wickets in 2026 as RCB successfully defended their title.
What is Bhuvneshwar Kumar's record for India in T20Is?
Bhuvneshwar is one of the best bowlers to have played for the Men in Blue in 20-over internationals. He has represented India in 87 T20Is, with a tally of 90 wickets to his name. His bowling average of 23.10 and an economy rate of 6.96 are quite praiseworthy as well. He is also the fifth highest wicket-taker for his country. He has the best of 5-4 in the format, which came months before he was dropped from the team.
Beyond 20-over cricket, the 36-year-old has also represented India in 21 Test matches and 121 ODIs, picking 63 and 141 wickets, respectively.
India’s updated T20I squad for 5th T20I: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Sanju Samson [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir, Arshdeep Singh (subject to fitness), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
[Inputs: BCCI]
