New Delhi, Oct 21 — Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara believes Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be the side's first-choice new-ball bowler in the upcoming five-match T20I series in New Zealand, citing the conditions there as ideal for the recalled swing bowler to excel.
Bhuvneshwar made his return to the Indian set-up for the fifth and final T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru. Though it was washed out due to rain, a lot will be expected of him when he takes the field for the series starting at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday.
"In New Zealand, I agree that he should be the first choice with the new ball, based on the conditions, because of the skill he possesses of swinging the ball. If the ball won't swing in New Zealand, where else will it swing?
“The conditions there are ideal for him. If there is a little help from the pitch, he can extract that movement from the pitch very well with the new ball," Pujara said on JioStar.
Former India cricketer and ex-assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said Bhuvneshwar had earned his recall with two consistent IPL seasons for defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by bowling in the toughest phases of the game on surfaces that offered seamers little.
"In the IPL, there aren't seaming conditions, there are flat pitches. Yet, for two years, he has been bowling two overs at the top and two at the back end, the toughest phases of the game. To do that, you need experience, you need a bowler who understands the conditions and can extract the best out of those conditions, and there has never been a question about Bhuvneshwar Kumar.”
Nayar went a step further and compared the pacer's understated career to Pujara's time as a batter in the Indian Test team. “I am so, so happy that Bhuvi has got a chance because, for so many years, he has been the kind of bowler that Cheteshwar Pujara was as a batter.
“You don't notice them until you notice them. When you go and open their stats, you see performance and consistency, whether they are playing domestic cricket, the DY Patil tournament, or the IPL. So, I'm very happy that he's in the team," he added.