CHENNAI: When Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up a thigh injury in the middle of the IPL 2020, a blow which made him miss the entire Australia tour, he was starring at an uncertain future. From being a regular for India across all formats, multiple injuries that he suffered starting with the 2019 World Cup kept him in the sidelines. But the 31-year-old has served a timely reminder that he's here to stay.
The Indian team had almost moved on from Kumar. They had already done so long back in Tests, and with Deepak Chahar rising through the ranks, Kumar needed to win back his spot. It was never about the skill set. There are very few who can match Kumar's artistry with the ball, especially in conditions that aid movement.
With Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan grabbing the opportunities, the question that came up was will India go back to Kumar? Amidst all the euphoria that India went through, they didn't forget the reason behind their lone series defeat they suffered since the restart. Their two ODI defeats Down Under were caused not just because they were undercooked. They had failed to take wickets with the new ball, which made their spinners to resort to defensive tactics, a move that had proved costly. Picking up wickets with the new ball was Kumar's job, a task he has delivered on a consistent basis.
When India were busy making history in Australia and facing England in Tests at home, Kumar took the field for Uttar Pradesh in Vijay Hazare Trophy, reassuring the Indian team management that he is willing to toil hard. The workload management and the hard part of living in the bubble meant, India were always going to rest Jasprit Bumrah, which provided them with an opportunity to test Kumar, physically and skill-wise in the limited-overs against England.
And at the end of it, the 31-year-old has aced the test. He played all the five T20Is and also featured in all the ODIs. With his body back to complimenting him, Kumar didn't waste any time in executing his skill set. Although he didn't get as many wickets in the T20Is, his economy of 6.38 was the lowest among both teams for any bowler who bowled at least 10 overs. Having found his rhythm, he was almost back to his usual best in the ODIs, against an England side that knows only to move in the fifth gear.
Bowling against two of the most destructive openers and operating at the death, Kumar's economy rate in the ODIs was 4.65 on flat decks where both teams scored over 300 in each of their innings. Had he not removed Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow on Sunday, the end result could have been different.
"I don't decide on the long term future. Whenever I have in the past, things haven't gone my way, whether it's due to injury or form. Workload management is something I will focus on and the team management also tries and does its best. I was unfit for a long time, so I realized that fitness is something I have to maintain if I want to play regular cricket," Kumar said.
The second wind he has found now gives India the hope that if he maintains his fitness, Kumar will be an added strength to the pace attack. With six Tests scheduled in England after the IPL, including the World Test Championship final, where the conditions will be to his liking, Kumar could have a big role to play. "Whatever preparation happens from my side will happen with red-ball cricket in mind. That's different from what will happen in team selections, but my training and workload during the IPL will happen with Test cricket in mind. I want to play Test cricket going forward."