Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has called for Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to India’s T20I setup after the veteran seamer starred in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s dramatic two-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026.
Bhuvneshwar produced a match-winning all-round display in Raipur, finishing with exceptional figures of 4-23 before later smashing a crucial six in the final over to help RCB complete a tense chase on the last ball
Impressed by the veteran pacer’s impact across phases of the game, Ashwin said Bhuvneshwar had shown enough to merit consideration for a national comeback.
“Hashtag ‘BringBackBhuvi’, I’d love to see him being considered for the T20I side. Tick with the new ball, able to complete the death overs nicely, and if you need a six under pressure, he’s hammering that as well in the toughest part of the ground,” Ashwin told JioStar.
Bhuvneshwar had dismantled Mumbai’s top order with a superb opening spell that removed Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav on a surface offering seam movement and uneven bounce. Ashwin particularly praised the veteran’s ability to quickly recognise the conditions and adapt accordingly.
“That was proper Test-match bowling after he realised there was something in the surface. He keeps testing you as an opening batter. To dismiss Rohit Sharma with that peach, a slower ball that just swung, was quite incredible,” Ashwin observed.
Ashwin also highlighted Bhuvneshwar’s team-first approach during the death overs, where the seamer chose execution over personal milestones. “And later on, he was selfless enough to execute the yorker when he could have gone for a fourth wicket. Extremely happy for him,” he added.
The former India spinner reserved equally high praise for Krunal Pandya, whose battling 73 anchored RCB’s difficult chase after early setbacks had reduced them to 47/3 in the powerplay.
Despite battling cramps during the latter stages of his innings, Krunal counterattacked effectively against both pace and spin to keep RCB alive in the chase before Bhuvneshwar’s late heroics sealed the win.
“With Krunal Pandya– we know HR managers and project managers, but that was proper ‘pressure management’. If you need one, please dial K for Krunal Pandya,” Ashwin remarked.
While RCB escaped with a thrilling victory, Ashwin also pointed out a few areas the defending champions may still need to address as they head deeper into the tournament.
“If you look at the tournament and how it’s placed, RCB have lost only two games on the bounce. They’re not that deep in trouble. But they were desperate to win this game. A win in this game means RCB are on a roll yet again. They can really start putting the foot to the accelerator now and move ahead strongly in the tournament,” he said.
Ashwin, however, suggested that RCB’s management may face a dilemma over Romario Shepherd, who struggled to find fluency during the chase despite the team eventually winning.
“I think it’s very easy to look at Romario Shepherd and wonder whether you potentially replace him with somebody else and explore other options. But when you know what Romario Shepherd is capable of, and when you have the luxury of defending a title while sitting pretty at the top of the table as the coaching staff, I would be thinking, ‘If Romario Shepherd comes off, and if he turns it on a big day, I would have invested correctly in backing him.’ So, they’ve got that luxury, and I think they can afford to stay a bit more patient with him,” Ashwin mentioned.
