Bhuvneshwar Kumar is among the veteran Indian bowlers playing in the IPL for well over a decade. He is currently playing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
RCB roped him in for a whopping 10.75 crores, and along with Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal, he has formed a potent pace attack for the franchise.
Bhuvi has taken 10 wickets from 12 matches so far this season and sits on 193 IPL wickets. He is looking to get to the landmark of 200 IPL wickets and will become the first pacer to get there.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Talks About Returning To RCB
He spoke to RCB's official Twitter handle about him joining the RCB franchise for the second time. He started his IPL career with RCB in 2010 before playing for Pune Warriors for a few seasons, before he became synonymous with Sunrisers Hyderabad for a decade.
"I am back in RCB after 16 years and I am very happy to be back. From the 2008-09 or 2010 season to now in 2025, things are very different. I had come in as a young player and now I have come back with so much more experience," Bhuvneshwar said in a video released by the franchise.
He then spoke about his fellow pacers Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal. Hazlewood is second on the Purple Cap list as of now with 18 wickets from 10 games. The left-arm pacer has picked up 10 wickets in 11 games and has been bowling well at the death. He bowled RCB to a win in the last over against CSK recently.
"If you talk about Yash and Josh, and the three of us - we are the same but different as well. If we talk about the aspects that are similar, the three of us can swing it. And then if you look at Josh Hazlewood, he has the height, and Yash is a left-arm pacer, which helps create a different angle altogether. And the best part is that all three of us can bowl at any stage of the game, and we have done it as well. These qualities help complement each other a lot" Bhuvi added further.
He then spoke in detail about the art of death bowling in this tournament so far. Bhuvneshwar has often picked up wickets in his first over in the IPL. However, often while bowling at the death, he has travelled the distance.
"Death bowling is like an instinct. It depends on what is the situation of the match and what you are thinking as well. When there are team meetings, you plan things in a particular way. But a lot of times, you do it differently on the ground, because that instinct kicks in" he said.
Bhuvi is key to RCB's playoff hopes. The side has been playing an attacking brand of cricket this season and will face LSG on Friday, May 9, in their next match. They are currently placed second on the IPL 2025 points table.
