Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer opined that Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserves T20I return for his consistent performances. Kumar has been added to India’s T20I squad for the series against New Zealand on Tuesday.
Kumar bagged 28 wickets in 16 matches of IPL 2026 and had played an instrumental role in taking Royal Challengers Bengaluru to glory. The swing master has performed consistently in the recent past and also scalped 14 wickets in 11 matches while leading Lucknow Falcons in UP T20 League 2026.
Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube Channel, “Better late than never. He deserves this. Unko select karke koi meherbani nahi ki hai kisi ne (nobody has done a favor by selecting him). His performances have been there, and his fitness has been good. I am clueless why he was dropped earlier.”
Jaffer said India needs experienced players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the squad and questioned why he wasn’t picked earlier despite decent performances.
“He has always done well in the IPL and for Uttar Pradesh. So, what was the reason he was not getting picked? We should keep the age aside. We have young players, but we should not neglect the ones doing well because you ultimately need experience when there is pressure. You cannot play with an entirely young team. You need to have that mixture of experience and youth.”
The former domestic giant also backed Mohammed Shami’s selection in ODIs and Test format. Shami recently picked seven wickets in the Duleep trophy and bagged 37 wickets in the previous season of the Ranji Trophy.
He concluded, “Shami should be picked, especially in the Test team. I don’t know about the ODI team because we have tried many players like Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, and Nitish Reddy there, but I don’t think the management still has that confidence. You are not giving Siraj game time consistently. I don’t understand who your second and third seamers are. According to me, Shami should be in the ODI team, given that the World Cup is also very near. When you have the quality, you should play him. My first choice would be Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj, and I will think about rebuilding after the World Cup.
India will play five ODIs, as many T20Is and two Test matches against New Zealand.
