'Tried for 15 years...': Ex-Australia captain's brutally honest admission on being troubled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar may not be a part of the Indian team currently, but has definitely been one of the star pacers of the side in his prime.

Over the past few years, Team India – particulary under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri as head coach – developed a star-studded pace attack. The duo is particularly credited to India's rise as a lethal bowling unit in the longest format of the game. During their time at respective roles, India registered series win in Australia, and led England 2-1 away before the final match was eventually postponed due to Covid-related concerns in 2021.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar in action for India in 2022 (Getty)

With the rise of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, as well as veteran bowlers Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma already in the lineup, the Indian pace attack became one of the most feared during the Kohli-Shastri years. However, there was one pacer who failed to make a mark in Test cricket despite terrific potential, and who remained a mainstay for the side in white-ball formats whenever injury-free – Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Thanks to his persistent injuries, Bhuvneshwar never enjoyed a consistent run in Tests but remained one of India's lethal fast bowlers in the limited-overs cricket. And one of the players the India star frustrated the most was former Australia captain Aaron Finch.

Bhuvneshwar dismissed Finch on 7 occasions in international cricket including four times in ODIs. Interestingly, all four dismissals came at a trot during a series in 2019, and during a Q&A session on Twitter, Finch was asked about the troubles he faced against the Indian pacer. “Big fan here ,why did bhuvi troubled you a bit.. Could you elaborate? Is it your feet coming across??” a fan asked Finch.

“Yep!! Tried for 15 years to stop that happening,” Finch replied.

Finch had retired from all forms of international cricket earlier this year. He had already announced his ODI retirement last year, and led the Aussie side in the home T20 World Cup later in 2022. Bhuvneshwar, meanwhile, is currently out-of-favour with Team India, having last represented the side in November 2022 during a T20I against New Zealand.

The pacer did, however, play in the Indian Premier League for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and even captained the side in the opening few games in absence of Aiden Markram.

Last month, Bhuvneshwar's social media activity created quite a buzz on social media, as he dropped “cricketer” from his Instagram bio. The update triggered speculations among fans with many hinting that the star bowler might be contemplating retirement from the game.