Veteran India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recall to the Indian side has been nothing short of dramatic. The pacer got his spot back in the team thanks to his performances in the last two seasons of the IPL. The 19th season, especially, was great for the veteran as he claimed 28 wickets.

Those performances earned Royal Challengers Bengaluru two successive league titles. Kiwi seamer Jacob Duffy, who is part of the squad to take on India, has praised Kumar after playing with the Indian seamer for RCB earlier this year. Duffy played six games in the IPL 2026 and claimed nine wickets with a best of 3/22.

Speaking to the media, the32-year-old praised his IPL teammate. “Bhuvi is not the fastest guy in the world, but he is skilful. He swings the ball and hits much better lengths and reads the batters really well. He also has the skills to change his deliveries up as well,” he said.

He also added, “So, it was cool to see him from a teammate’s point of view and be on his side to see how he goes about things. Looking forward to seeing him.” Bhuvneshwar was added to the squad for the fifth T20I vs WI, but he didn’t get a chance to bowl as the game in Bengaluru was washed out due to rain.

Indian pacer will be playing his 89th T20I if he gets a chance to make it to the playing XI on Thursday. Kumar has picked up 90 wickets and has an economy rate of 6.96 runs per over, with a best of 5/4 against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup. The pacer was also part of India’s last tour of New Zealand, and his performances were below par, which eventually saw Bhuvi lose his place in the team.

Jacob Duffy’s international numbers

Known for his consistency and ability to maintain decent speed, Jacob Duffy made his New Zealand debut in the T20I format at the age of 26 in late 2020. The seamer has gone on to play 48 games so far and picked up 62 wickets with an economy rate of 8 runs per over and a best of 4/14. The Kiwi star has played eight T20I games against India and took just seven wickets at an economy rate of 11 runs per over.