RAIPUR: On a December evening at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2012, a young fast bowler from Uttar Pradesh announced international cricket with dreams of a T20I debut against Pakistan. Swinging the new ball with superb control, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/9 figures returned. More than 13 years later, in a format that has tilted more towards the batsmen, Bhuvneshwar is not only relevant but also the most effective, as he has shown in this one. IPL this season. Once a young swing-bowling prospect, he now stands as craft, discipline and constant reinvention.At 36, he has 21 wickets in 11 matches and tops the IPL wicket charts this season, a landmark in a competition where 200-plus totals no longer feel secure and bowlers are challenged in every over. For Bhuvneshwar, survival in modern T20 cricket has come down to one thing: constant evolution.
“My skills and the mental side of my game have changed a lot. What has changed is accepting situations quicker. The way batsmen are coming at you now is very different from 10 years ago. Accepting things quicker probably helped me,” said the 36-year-old.This adaptation has become necessary in a tournament that now barely resembles the early years of the IPL. Batsmen now attack from ball one, unconventional strokes have become mainstream and even good deliveries regularly disappear into the stands.“Five years ago, if you gave away 40 runs, I thought it was a bad day,” admitted Bhuvneshwar, who returned match-winning figures of 4/23 against MI on Sunday and hit a crucial six in the last over. “Now, if you give 40 runs, I consider that good bowling! Earlier 200 was considered a winning score. Now, when teams chase 200, it feels like it’s ‘just 200’.Despite the changing demands, Bhuvneshwar has remained one of the most reliable fast bowlers in the league, operating both in the powerplay and at the death. Having not played at the international level since November 2022, the former India fast bowler insisted that there is no magic formula behind his longevity. Instead, he promotes discipline and consistency to stay ahead.“Encouragement has been,” he said. “It’s discipline. You’re tired, you don’t want to go, but you still have to go. That consistency — working day in and day out — makes you consistent on the field, too.” Age, though, has brought physical challenges. “When you’re young, recovery takes less time than it does at that age,” he said. “Physically, it’s tough but mentally it gets easier because you’re mature and experienced. You understand your game very well.”Even as a young generation of intrepid batsmen is redefining T20 cricket, Bhuvneshwar is confident that bowlers will continue to find ways to respond. He said that batsmen do something and then become bowlers. That’s how cricket has always worked.Bhubaneswar’s journey to RCB is also complete. He was around the franchise setup as a young domestic cricketer in 2009 and 2010 and returned in 2025 as one of the most experienced fast bowlers in the country. “Everything has changed for me,” he said. “At that time, I was a domestic player. For the first time in the setup, I was only looking at the glamorous side of it. I used to get nervous looking at other players, foreign players. But now it has changed a lot because now a senior player is a big part of joining the team.“
