Veteran India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been recalled to the national T20I team virtually four years after his last international appearance. The 36-year-old has been named in the squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand later this month, marking his return to the international set-up after a gap of nearly four years.

Bhuvneshwar has been in great form in the IPL for the past two seasons with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who have retained their title in the past two years.

The off-spinner from Meerut picked up 17 wickets last season and regularly troubled the game's best batters with his exceptional swing and seam skills, especially during the powerplay.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets recall after Agarkar's exit

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's performances have seen him in demand for the India team, but he was not able to get a recall during the tenure of Ajit Agarkar as the chief selector. The former selector was focused on promoting young players rather than trying to bring in experienced campaigners.

However, it is believed that central zone selector Rudra Pratap Singh was pushing Bhuvneshwar Kumar's case, even if he did not have much backing for his requests.

His argument was made more credible after Agarkar's exit, with Pragyan Ojha and the other selectors being easily convinced of the veteran seamer's potential contributions. Jasprit Bumrah was unavailable for the series, which gave Ojha and others an opening to experiment.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's experience is likely to be valuable for the young pace battery as he guides Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav, who is expected to be an important player for the team for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia in 2028.

The spinner has been a crucial member of the Indian team, with 21 Tests, 121 ODIs, and 87 T20Is to his name.

He has also recorded 90 wickets in T20Is, making him one of the most experienced seam bowlers in the Indian setup.

It is also expected that the new selector panel will recall Varun Chakravarthy, who missed out on the Asian Games due to an injury.

Most of the players retained in the T20i series against West Indies were expected to gain confidence, but his recall will also give Mohammed Shami a boost.

India's five-match T20I series against New Zealand will commence on October 22 in Christchurch. The second match will be played in Christchurch on October 24, before the two sides travel to Wellington for the third match on October 27.

The fourth and fifth matches are scheduled to be played in Auckland on October 30 and Hamilton on November 1, respectively.

The T20I series will be followed by five ODIs and two Tests as well as an extended tour of New Zealand.

India T20I XI vs New Zealand

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav.