How Bhuvneshwar Kumar has fared for Team India: His journey
What's the story
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is set to play his first international for India in nearly four years. Bhuvneshwar, whose career was deemed over, was surprisingly recalled to India's T20I side for the impending New Zealand tour. Despite faring well in two successive Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons, Bhuvneshwar had not quite expected an India call-up like this. Have a look at his record for India.
Debut
Magical debut in white-ball cricket
Bhuvneshwar's India debut was as magical as his swing.
He made his international debut in the 1st T20I against Pakistan on December 25, 2012.
Bhuvi rocked Pakistan's top order as they attempted to chase 134. He swung the ball both ways, dismissing Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, and Umar Akmal.
Although Pakistan won, Bhuvneshwar's returns read 4-0-9-3 with an economy rate of 2.25.
Strike
Wicket off the first ball
Five days later, Bhuvneshwar stunned Pakistan on his ODI debut.
With a stupendous in-swinger, the Indian seamer knocked over Mohammad Hafeez for a duck.
India lost this match too, with Pakistan chasing 228, but Bhuvneshwar concluded with 9-3-27-2.
He became the first Indian pacer to take a wicket off the first ball delivered in their ODI career.
Journey
Test career cut short
The coming few months saw Bhuvneshwar make his Test debut too and become India's mainstay seamer across formats.
Although Bhuvneshwar was impressive in Tests, injuries cut short his red-ball career on India's 2017/18 South Africa tour.
Notably, Bhuvneshwar was at his peak on that tour, contributing with fine spells and handy knocks down the order.
Bhuvneshwar never played another Test thereafter.
Numbers
A look at his numbers
In 21 Tests, Bhuvneshwar has taken 63 wickets at 26.09. His tally includes 4 five-wicket hauls (BBI: 6/82 and BBM: 8/96).
The right-arm seamer owns 141 wickets from 121 ODIs at 35.11 (BBM: 5/42 with an economy rate of 5.08.
Bhuvneshwar is also one of only seven Indians with 90-plus T20I wickets.
In 87 T20Is, he has taken 90 wickets at 23.10 (BBM: 5/4).
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Notable distinctions of Bhuvneshwar
According to Cricinfo, Bhuvneshwar is the only Indian pacer with multiple fifers in T20I cricket. Overall, only Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav share this record with Bhuvi. The Indian pacer also has half-centuries in ODIs and Tests.