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Bhuvneshwar called up for Bengaluru decider as Arshdeep nurses shoulder blow
The BCCI added the 36-year-old seamer to India's squad on Friday and said a call on Arshdeep Singh will be made before Saturday's fifth T20I. Bowling coach Morne Morkel said Bhuvneshwar's experience will steady a young attack.
Key points
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added to India's squad for the fifth T20I against West Indies.
- The BCCI said a decision on Arshdeep Singh will be taken before the game, based on his recovery.
- The series is level at 2-2 going into Saturday night at the Chinnaswamy.
India have sent for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The 36-year-old seamer was added to the squad on Friday for Saturday’s fifth and final T20I against West Indies in Bengaluru, after Arshdeep Singh took a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth match in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India said “Bhuvneshwar Kumar was added to the squad after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder.” It added that “a decision on his participation in the final T20I will be taken prior to the game based on his recovery.”
That leaves India waiting on their first-choice left-arm seamer with the series level at 2-2. The board gave no detail on how serious the injury is.
A familiar face at the Chinnaswamy
Bhuvneshwar was already in the squad for the five-match T20I series in New Zealand, which starts in Christchurch on 22 October, so the call-up only brings his return forward by a few days. He also knows the ground well from his seasons with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, a point bowling coach Morne Morkel made when he spoke in Bengaluru on Friday.
“I’m really excited to have him back in the mix,” Morkel said. He said Bhuvneshwar’s experience would add value to a relatively young attack, and that the aim at a high-scoring venue was to help the younger bowlers make smarter decisions under pressure. Landing yorkers at the death, he said, “comes with experience and game time.”
Morkel said the attack had executed its plans well through the series, but added that India cannot afford to have both ends leaking runs at once, because that hands the batting side momentum. He singled out Prince Yadav for keeping his bowling simple and sticking to his strengths.
How the series got here
The bowlers have had a hard fortnight. India won the first match by eight wickets, then lost the second when West Indies chased down 250. They defended 223 to win the third by 14 runs in Indore, before Shai Hope’s unbeaten hundred took West Indies to a 24-run win in Hyderabad.
Updated India squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The decider at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is due to start at 7 pm IST on Saturday.