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By Ishaan Kapoor — 31 July 2026 — 4 min read

Ashwin advocates for Kumar’s return

Ravichandran Ashwin, a prominent spin bowler, has voiced his support for veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to be included in India’s squad for the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup. Ashwin highlighted Kumar’s swing bowling as a potentially crucial asset, particularly given the playing conditions expected in South Africa, one of the host nations for the tournament.

The 2027 World Cup is scheduled to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The majority of matches are anticipated to take place in South Africa, where pitches are traditionally known to favour seam and swing bowlers. This factor appears to be central to Ashwin’s reasoning for advocating Kumar’s inclusion.

Kumar, currently 36, has not featured for the national team since 2022. His absence from international cricket has been attributed to recurring injuries, which led to him falling down the pecking order. However, Ashwin believes that the swing specialist still possesses significant value and could contribute effectively if his workload is managed carefully over the coming year.

Speaking on a YouTube channel, Ashwin made a compelling case for Kumar’s return. He stated, “Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a yes. I would communicate to him. Get him to play all the tournaments, first-class, Vijay Hazare, everything, and get him primed going to South Africa. I think we will need him there.” If selected for the World Cup, Kumar would be 37 years old during the tournament, making him the most experienced fast bowler in India’s pace attack.

Kumar’s recent form and past performance

Despite a modest overall record in South Africa, where he has taken 19 wickets from 13 international matches at an average of 35.26, Ashwin pointed to Kumar’s ability to move the new ball as a critical skill. His best figures in South Africa stand at 5/24. Ashwin believes this skill would be invaluable on pitches that typically assist seamers.

Kumar has recently shown strong form, which has reignited discussions about his potential international comeback. He had an outstanding campaign in the IPL 2026 playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. During this tournament, he rediscovered his ability as a white-ball swing bowler, delivering incisive opening spells and accurate yorkers.

He finished the IPL 2026 as the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker, securing 28 wickets in 16 matches. His average was 17.89, and he maintained an economy rate of 7.95. These performances have contributed to the renewed debate regarding his return to the national squad.

In his 121 One-Day Internationals, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has claimed a total of 141 wickets at an average of 35.11, with his best figures being 5/42. Across all 229 international matches, he has taken 294 wickets. He was also part of India’s 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cup campaigns, where India reached the semi-finals on both occasions.

Ashwin’s proposed 2027 World Cup squad

Beyond advocating for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin also outlined his preferred core squad for the 2027 World Cup. He included senior players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, alongside captain Shubman Gill. Other established names in his proposed squad are Shreyas Iyer, K L Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Ashwin suggested Kuldeep Yadav as the primary spinner for the squad. The pace attack would be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar completing the trio of seam bowlers. This selection emphasizes the importance of a strong pace attack for the conditions in South Africa.

Additionally, Ashwin endorsed two younger players for the squad: Harshit Rana and wicket-keeper-batter Ishan Kishan. He cited Rana’s height, pace, and ability to extract bounce as beneficial for the South African pitches. However, Ashwin remained undecided on several other players, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna.

Ashwin explicitly ruled out several players from his potential squad, including Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Abhishek Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav, and Gurnoor Brar. The 2027 ODI World Cup is scheduled to take place from October 4 to November 21, featuring 14 teams and hosted across 12 cities in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Source: m.rediff.com