RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesBhuvneshwar Kumar in 2027 ODI World Cup India squad: Stellar IPL 2026 campaign has brought back veteran pacer in mainstream conversation originally appeared on Cricket News .
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has re-entered India's 2027 World Cup conversation after a stellar IPL 2026.
The veteran took 28 wickets for RCB, finishing one short of the Purple Cap.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik have both backed his international recall.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2027 ODI World Cup India squad after Stellar IPL 2026
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's international career appeared to have quietly wound down, yet a remarkable IPL 2026 campaign has thrust the veteran seamer back into the national spotlight.
With India assessing their options for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, the 35-year-old has forced his way into a debate few expected him to feature in.
The right-armer has not played an ODI for India since January 2022, and the assumption had long been that the selectors would look to younger names. His sustained excellence for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, however, has upended that thinking and revived talk of an unlikely return.
The tournament's location has only strengthened his case. With the World Cup to be staged in the seam-friendly conditions of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, a bowler of Bhuvneshwar's control and new-ball craft suddenly looks less like a relic and more like a shrewd option.
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A stellar IPL 2026 for RCB
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was central to Royal Challengers Bengaluru's success in the IPL 2026 campaign, taking 28 wickets in 16 matches. That haul left him as the tournament's second-highest wicket-taker, agonisingly one wicket short of claiming the Purple Cap.
His numbers underlined a bowler operating at the peak of his powers rather than fading. He averaged 17.89 with an economy of 7.95 and delivered when it mattered most, claiming two wickets in the final against Gujarat Titans to help RCB over the line.
The campaign continued an upward trajectory that began the previous year, when he took 17 wickets in RCB's 2025 title win. Two consecutive fit and productive seasons have addressed the durability questions that dogged him in the past.
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Experts line up behind a recall
The clamour for Bhuvneshwar's return has been led by some respected voices. Ravichandran Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube channel, was emphatic in his endorsement of the veteran for the World Cup squad.
Ashwin said, "Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a yes. I would tell him to do all the tournaments – First Class, the Vijay Hazare – everything. And get him ready for South Africa. I think we would require him there."
He was not alone in that view. Dinesh Karthik included Bhuvneshwar in his own projected 15-man squad for the tournament, while Kris Srikkanth had earlier argued the pacer's IPL consistency made him impossible to ignore for national selection. Bhuvneshwar's ODI record speaks to a bowler who was, at his best, among India's finest new-ball operators.
He featured in both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, taking 10 wickets in the latter, including a semi-final three-for against New Zealand. His last international appearance came in an ODI against South Africa in January 2022, after which he was gradually eased out of India's plans.
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A romantic idea that must clear a hard hurdle
Since then, domestic cricket and the IPL have been his stage, and it is that arena he has used to rebuild his case for a stunning late-career recall. There is genuine appeal in the Bhuvneshwar comeback story, and his mastery of swing bowling would be a natural fit for early-morning conditions in South Africa.
Two seasons of high-volume, high-quality wickets cannot simply be dismissed, and the endorsements from Ashwin and Karthik carry real weight in the wider conversation.
Yet the counterargument is difficult to shake. The selectors have leaned firmly towards building for the future, and investing a World Cup spot in a 35-year-old who last played an ODI more than four years ago runs against that grain.
IPL success has rarely translated cleanly to the international 50-over game, and however compelling the narrative, Bhuvneshwar's recall would represent a gamble on nostalgia that the management may prove reluctant to take.
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