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International cricket is back as the teams have shifted their gears and focus towards ODIs, T20Is, and Tests. The India National Cricket Team will also take the field against Afghanistan for a one-off Test match and then the 3-match ODI series. Ahead of that, former opener Aakash Chopra has dropped a comment on pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter believes that Bhuvneshwar Kumar should have been given a chance in the Men in Blue side once again. The veteran seamer was in sensational form during the IPL 2026. He was key to Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) back-to-back success in winning the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2025 and 2026.
You feel he should be played- Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the leading wicket-taker for the franchise and the second highest this season with 28 wickets in the tournament, and bowled with an economy of 7.65 in the 16 matches he played for the champion side. He was unplayable and came back with a different kind of pace and swing this year and dismantled some of the great batters.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel, “If you think emotionally, you feel he should be played because if performance is the criterion, what more can anyone do? You should get a chance for sure, but then the question arises whether it will be short-term planning or if you are thinking long-term.”
“White-ball cricket runs in cycles. In T20s, as soon as the World Cup gets over, you start seeing changes within the next six months that prepare you for 2028.”
Maybe it’s a little too tough- Aakash Chopra on Bhuvi’s return
Aakash Chopra believes that Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserves a chance, as he is a fast bowler and already 36 years old, and also India has many T20Is this year, so the former asks the selectors to provide him with some chances in the upcoming series for the Men in Blue.
“Give Bhuvneshwar Kumar a few chances at least because he is a fast bowler. If he had been a batter, I would have said leave it, as many of them are there. Since India will play so much T20 cricket, play him. Never know, he gives you a World Cup.”
“Two years is a lot. He is not getting younger. He is already 36 years old. Maybe it’s a little too tough for a fast bowler to last that long, but maybe he can get a chance in T20 cricket,” he observed.
I am also saying that he is ready- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also emphasised on playing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the senior team and believes that the MVP and the Orange Cap winner of IPL 2026 is ready to play at a senior level.
“I am also saying that he is ready, but no one has the answer to the question of how he should be selected. You have only two options. One is that you tell Sanju Samson you aren’t selecting him, that he has won two consecutive World Cups, scored runs in the virtual quarterfinal, the semi-final, and the final, and became the Player of the Tournament, but now you are being removed because we have got something new,” he said.
