Pragyan Wastes No Time in Including Bhuvneshwar in T20 Squad for New Zealand Tour
New Delhi: India’s T20 squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand was announced on Tuesday under the chairmanship of interim chief selector Pragyan Ojha. Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was the second-highest wicket-taker in this year’s IPL, has been handed a surprise recall to the squad. India’s T20I series in New Zealand will begin on October 22.
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Bhuvi Has 294 International Wickets to His Name
The timing of Ajit Agarkar’s departure as chief selector and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to the Indian team after four years has become a talking point in Indian cricket. The soft-spoken pacer last represented India in 2022. Bhuvneshwar has taken 294 wickets in international cricket, including 90 wickets in 87 T20Is for India.
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36-Year-Old Bhuvi Gets a Place in the Gen-Z Team
Bhuvneshwar is renowned for generating significant swing with the white ball. His outswinger and surprise inswinger have been two of his biggest weapons throughout his career. India’s T20 squad is generally viewed as a team built around Gen-Z players. However, cricket fans have warmly welcomed Pragyan Ojha’s committee selecting the 36-year-old Bhuvneshwar.
This could also be seen as a positive indication that Rohit Sharma’s ODI career is no longer under threat. Fans are also hoping that Suryakumar Yadav will return to the team sooner rather than later.
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RP Singh Had Been Pushing for Bhuvi’s Comeback
It is being said that committee member R. P. Singh had been advocating Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return for quite some time, but his view did not receive enough support. With Pragyan Ojha becoming the chief selector, his opinion was reportedly taken into consideration.
India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand will begin on October 22. The tour will also feature five ODIs and two Test matches after the T20I series.
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India’s T20I Squad for New Zealand
Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.
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