India continue to be winless against South Africa in 2022 having lost their seventh straight match across formats to them. The losing streak began with the Johannesburg Test in early January which spilled over to a three-match ODI series and continues with the ongoing T20I series in India where the tourists have now taken a 2-0 lead.
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In India’s defense, they aren’t playing their first-choice eleven but there are players who could form the nucleus of the squad that selectors may end up choosing for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 to be played in Australia. The series is a chance for those on the fringes or in direct competition with players of similar skillsets to move ahead in the race.
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One of those claimants is the veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was in stunning form on Sunday night taking four wickets and allowing just 13 runs in his quota of four overs. While his stocks may have taken a dip in the recent years with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar establishing themselves as the first-choice pacers, Bhuvneshwar has started making the right noises.
“Is Bhuvneshwar Kunar still your premier T20 bowler? I think conditions apply (to it),” former India opener Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel. “This was a phenomenal performance (against South Africa). He took three wickets with the new ball. He’s brilliant when the conditions are favourable (to his style of bowling), he’s unplayable. The race is tough (though). There’s Bumrah, Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, T Natarajan, Mohsin Khan, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.”
Chopra reckons that should Bhuvneshwar continue to be consistent, then he could well join forces with Jasprit Bumrah to become part of India’s pace premier attack.
“He (Bhuvneshwar) was slightly behind the curve if we talk about the previous T20 World Cup but if he continues to perform like this, then he’s right up there. B&B (Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar) connection will be back. This was a superb performance,” he said.
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