Indian batter Hanuma Vihari highlighted that Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s performance was disappointing in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Kumar was added to India’s T20I squad after he scalped 28 wickets in 16 matches of IPL 2026 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and played a key role in the franchise’s success.
But, the veteran seamer didn’t have a great return to Indian colors as he scalped one wicket at an average of 180 in four games and conceded his runs at an economy rate of 11.25.
Vihari pointed out that Kumar was down on pace against the Blackcaps, which was not the case in IPL 2026.
“Should Bhuvneshwar get one last game? I don’t know. His pace is down. For some reason, he was bowling at 126-127, whereas in the IPL, he was bowling at 135. Is that rhythm not there? Or is match fitness not there? We don’t know. But he was not impressive at all. Overall, the bowling was disappointing,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Vihari questioned India’s bowling performance and said India lacks a go-to-bowler in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
“India’s bowling attack is a really big problem. There are a lot of concerns. Without Bumrah and Hardik, who is the go-to bowler? Arshdeep has improved over a period of time. But is he your go-to bowler? I know T20 cricket is changing drastically, but the bowling attack is a concern. There are questions about the bowling in white-ball cricket, and there have to be discussions about it. Who are the bowlers you will look at? That has to be discussed,” he said.
The first ODI between India and New Zealand will be played at Eden Park, Auckland, on Wednesday.
