Bhuvi’s recall well-deserved, he will bounce back: Tim Southee

On his international return, the lead pacer has lacked control and been unusually expensive.

Mumbai: Stats are cold and objective, but the people behind them are human. Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be experiencing the effects of harsh numbers following his uneventful return to international cricket. The dismissal of Daryl Mitchell in the second T20I on Saturday was classic Bhuvi - follow the right-hander and beat him with a knuckleball. But that wicket itself was aligned to a statistical quirk. It came after a spell of 1434 days on the international circuit.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar for India. (HT_PRINT)

Such a long hiatus meant his two matches back against New Zealand returned lacklustre returns - 4-0-49-0 and 4-0-50-1. Those have been two of the three most expensive outings for Bhuvneshwar in T20Is. That may be hurtful for someone who has earned a living by being economical with a career ER of 7 runs per over.

Those singing paeans of Bhuvneshwar’s selection have doubts if the 36-year-old is the same bowler he was. Not Tim Southee, the former New Zealand pacer, who has been working on the series as a commentator for Sky Sports New Zealand.

“You look at his skill and experience that is vitally important in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence,” he told HT. “So, I think it's been a very well-deserved recall. He's been one of the top performers in the IPL for the last few years. I think he'll bounce back. It's his first time back playing international cricket for a while. So, I'm sure he'll have an impact at some stage in the series.”

The two matches in Christchurch have been played on fairly batting-friendly pitches, especially the 1st T20I, where 225 runs were chased down. That’s not foreign for someone who delivers at a bowler’s graveyard in the IPL, the Chinnaswamy Stadium. What’s rendered Bhuvneshwar ineffective with the new ball has been the lack of any swing on offer.

“Yeah, it's an interesting one. You see a little bit of swing for the first over, but I think it's sort of been the case for a while in white-ball cricket now - the ball hasn’t swung,” said Southee. “The surfaces tend to be pretty good, and everything tends to be pretty tough for the poor old bowlers.

“In T20 cricket, you sort of break it down into each delivery as an individual battle, and if you see there's swing on offer, then you try and maximise that. If there's no swing, then you have to go do other skills that you've got. If it does swing, then things are certainly a lot easier.”

Best use of Bhuvneshwar

In the 2nd T20I, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer wanted to maximise Bhuvneshwar’s Powerplay effectiveness, not willing to use even an over of spin like New Zealand. Interestingly, for the Kiwis, introducing Michael Bracewell’s off-spin against Indian left-handers was playing match-ups. While for India, going all-pace was a better plan in the absence of an effective wrist spinner.

In theory, Bhuvneshwar was assisting the team plan. Just that the senior pacer couldn’t execute. His third Powerplay over went for 17 runs. Whether that’s down to having lost some air speed is difficult to say because for two IPL seasons in a row, he had shown he could be sharp when he wanted.

By frontloading Bhuvneshwar, though, India is showing less dependency on his death overs ability. Whether that’s utilizing his experience to the fullest is for Iyer to consider. Bhuvneshwar’s quota was used up by being asked to bowl the 16th over in the 2nd T20I, where he went for 18 runs. In the first, Bhuvneshwar bowled the last over and went for 14, where 225 runs were conceded.

“As a bowler, you've got to be flexible and adaptable. I think the inclusion of Prince Yadav probably negated that a little bit,” said Southee about Bhuvneshwar not being used at the death. “With all of Bhuvi’s experience, he's more than capable of bowling at various stages of a T20 match. In the IPL, with the makeup of the RCB side, he's the man they turn to for the top of the innings and the back end. Here, it's a different team, different dynamic. He'll just slot in where he needs to.”

One stat that would concern Bhuvneshwar though is having bowled 5 wides and 3 no balls over 2 matches. This, for someone who never bowled a no-ball in his 88 T20Is prior to this series. Over the last four years, Bhuvneshwar may have become accustomed to conditioning his body for two months of IPL grind in a year. But international cricket is a different ball game.

Being such a seasoned campaigner, he would have to summon his mental reserves to turn the numbers around for the remainder of the series.