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India’s veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has finally received the reward for his stellar performances in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) two consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) title wins. After a long hiatus, the men’s senior selection committee with interim head Pragyan Ojha, picked Bhuvneshwar for the five-T20I series against New Zealand. The squad was announced during the T20I series opener against West Indies in Lucknow.
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As per a report by PTI, Bhuvneshwar was often discussed in selection team meetings before as well but the former chief selector Ajit Agarkar did not believe in going back to pacers closing in on retirement age. Agarkar wanted to rope in young pacers in the squad. It also clears the air over reluctance to bring back Mohammed Shami despite his impressive performances in domestic cricket. However, once Agarkar’s tenure ended, it opened the doors for Bhuvneshwar.
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Bhuvneshwar's previous T20I appearance was against South AFrica in November 2022. Coincidentally, his previous T20I appearance was against New Zealand too. He went wicketless in the Napier clash and conceded 35 runs from his quota of four overs.
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Since Bhuvneshwar's exit from the T20I squad, he has played four IPL seasons. In IPL 2024, he wasn't at his best but helped a batting-heavy SRH qualify for the final where they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Before the mega auction, he was released by SRH and snapped up by RCB for Rs 10.75 crore. He repaid the franchise's faith by taking 16 wickets at an average of 28.41. RCB won their maiden title. In the final, he dismissed Nehal Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis in death overs.
But, he delivered his IPL career's best wickets tally in the 2026 edition. He claimed 28 wickets, only one shy of finalists Gujarat Titans (GT) Kagiso Rabada. But, it was not the wickets column which was the only thing impressive. His economy rate was just under eight runs per over which is commendable in the era of mostly flat pitches and elongated batting with the controversial impact player rule.
When will Bhuvneshwar make his T20I return?
India play their first of the five-T20I series against the Kiwis on October 22 in Christchurch. Bhuvneshwar is expected to don the India jersey in the swinging conditions.
Bhuvneshwar's T20I record in New Zealand
Bhuvneshwar has played five T20Is in New Zealand and managed to take four wickets at an average of 40 and economy rate of 8.42 runs per over. On his previous tour of New Zealand, he also delivered an economical spell of 12 for 1 in three overs in India's 65-run win at Mount Maunganui.
India’s 16-member T20I squad vs New Zealand
Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (vc), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
Who is missing from the T20I squad?
Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the T20I series again considering the his workload. India will play a five-ODI series followed by a two-Test series against the BlackCaps as well. All-rounder Hardik Pandya is unavailable for selection as he is yet to regain full fitness.
The only player dropped from the current T20I squad is leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. After three wicketless T20Is on Japan soil including two Asian Games 2026 semifinal and final, Bishnoi has been dropped.
Since his return to the squad, Bishnoi's best was against Afghanistan where he picked up a three-fer. He was wicketless in England, conceding 60 runs in the Manchester T20I he played. He took a wicket each in three-T20I series against Zimbabwe. In the ongoing year, he has managed to take 10 wickets from 12 T20Is at an average of 31.10. In the gold medal match against Pakistan, he went for 44 runs from three overs.
Who replaces Bishnoi?
India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has returned to the squad after recovering from a side strain he sustained in T20I series against Afghanistan. Chakaravarthy has played 16 T20Is in 2026 and claimed 20 wickets at an average of 24.15. He has struggled with injuries this year. This will be the first time he will be playing a T20I in New Zealand. So far, he has played five T20Is against New Zealand and bagged five wickets at an average of 34 including the T20 World Cup 2026 final where he got rid of a rampant Tim Siefert.
New Zealand’s T20I squad vs India
New Zealand will go into the five-T20I series with a near full-strength squad. They have picked a pace-heavy lineup. An injured Rachin Ravindra and Ben Sears will miss the T20I series.
New Zealand squad — Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamiseon, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Nathan Smith.
India’s T20I record in New Zealand
India are touring New Zealand for a T20I series for the first time in nearly four years. The last time India won the T20I series 1-0 as one game was abandoned due to rain and another ended in a tie via DLS method. The last time India played a five-T20I series in New Zealand was in 2020. India ended up completing a 5-0 cleansweep. Earlier, New Zealand have won two T20I series against India at home.
Seifert, Kishan target Suryakumar's record
Meanwhile, Seifert has a chance to break India former captain Suryakumar Yadav's record for most runs in India-New Zealand T20I clashes. Suryakumar has 526 runs from 14 T20Is. Seifert has 477 runs from 16 T20Is. The Kiwi opener needs 50 more runs to get the name in his record. For India, Kishan will also have a chance. Currently, the in-form batter has 372 runs from 12 T20Is against the BlackCaps. He needs 155 more runs to surpass Suryakumar. Apart from Suryakumar, Rohit has 500-plus (511 runs from 17 innings) T20I runs against New Zealand too. Daryl Mitchell may find himself surpassing Suryakumar as well. He has 383 runs from 20 T20Is against India.
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