Former Indian off-spinner and commentator Ravi Ashwin has stated that the veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be included in the squad for the forthcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2027, which is scheduled to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
For the unversed, Bhuvi had played a pivotal role in propelling the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a title win in the recently concluded IPL 2026 season as he emerged as the second-leading wicket-taker with 28 scalps.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin believes that the out-of-favour veteran pacer could be a great addition to the Indian team on South African surfaces. He also advised the Indian team management to communicate to Bhuvi to play all the domestic tournaments to stay fit.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a yes. I would communicate to him, get him to play all the tournaments – first-class cricket, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, everything. And get him primed going to South Africa. I think we would need him there,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Additionally, Ashwin also backed Team India to field three specialist spinners in the opening Test against Sri Lanka, which is scheduled to start on Saturday, August 15 in Galle. He went on to state that Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Kuldeep Yadav should all feature in the playing XI as the series is part of the World Test Championship.
“Jadeja will definitely play. Manav Suthar took seven wickets in the last game – he’ll play. And Kuldeep Yadav should also play. That makes three spinners. I think they should go with Saransh Jain at No. 7, which leaves – No. 5 Rishabh Pant, No. 4 Shubman Gill, No. 3 Devdutt Padikkal or Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul. That leaves two fast-bowler spots,” he added.
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