Last Updated on 34 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
The senior selection committee has picked experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the squad for India’s upcoming five-match series against New Zealand. The 36-year-old last played for India in November 2022, and his last appearance was also in New Zealand shortly after the T20 World Cup in Australia.
He is returning after two stellar seasons in the IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In IPL 2026, Bhuvneshwar was especially lethal and bagged 28 wickets with an economy of 7.95. His performances have earned him another chance in the Indian setup.
Along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy also returns to the T20I squad
Varun Chakaravarthy has also been included in the 16-member squad as he missed recent matches because of injury. Injuries had hampered his availability in what has been a tough 2026 campaign for the 35-year-old spinner.
Chakaravarthy last played for India in the T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi where he suffered a side strain. The injury meant he missed the one-off T20I against Japan and was also ruled out of the Asian Games.
He is now fit again and has been included back in the squad in place of Ravi Bishnoi. His experience in the shortest format will add to India’s bowling attack for the New Zealand series.
Full Indian Squad For The New Zealand T20s: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav
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