The ever-evolving Bhuvneshwar continues to shine in the demanding IPL landscape

 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Image: BCCI/IPL

Bhuvneshwar Kumar isn’t the quintessential fast bowler that you would have imagined while growing up. The one who runs from a long run-up with fluid and long strides. And then that wreaking finish at the other end with those deadly offerings. Yet, in 2026, where modern-day pacers are finding it increasingly difficult to survive in the world of T20 cricket, his bowling can be called as the high-quality machine that rarely fails to deliver.

It is also a high-quality machine that upgrades its spare parts all the time. Consider this – Over a period of time, Bhuvneshwar’s traits to move the ball have been praised. Yet, he has also chiseled out a path to survive by pounding it on a back of a length. Just to give credence to that point, in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru-Lucknow Super Giants fixture, at least five of Bhuvneshwar’s deliveries were on short of a length or short in his over 2 and 3.

That Bhuvneshwar can mix it up with reverse-swinging yorkers, the knuckle ball, slower short ones and still swing the new ball testify his ever-evolving skills. We saw all of those attributes against LSG where he bagged three wickets. To excavate more information, delve deeper into how Bhuvneshwar landed the wide yorker against Rishabh Pant, while for Mohammed Shami it was a yorker at the base of the stumps. The reliable machine’s durability can be seen through the prism of numbers too – The other day, Bhuvneshwar became the first pace bowler in the IPL to complete the 200-wicket milestone.

Image :X

Just like Bhuvneshwar, Rasikh also used the slightly tacky nature of the surface at the Chinnaswamy to his advantage and scalped four victims. The former Jammu and Kashmir pacer may never reach the levels of Bhuvneshwar in terms of pedigree, but he too is making steady progress.

In all of this, lest we forget the contribution of Omkar Salvi, RCB’s bowling coach. He is that quiet and unassuming coach who rarely hogs the limelight. But when a group seems to understand the nuances of almost every ground’s dimensions and executes the plans, then the bowling coach deserves all the plaudits.

Not that we have forgotten Josh Hazlewood and Krunal Pandya’s contributions to RCB’s fourth win of the 2026 IPL season. Be it ushering his offerings at a burst of pace, extracting bounce, and deceiving the opponents with a nth moment tweak in his grip, Hazlewood too showcased his potent artillery. However, from an Indian perspective, the story of the night was how a master of his craft and an apprentice went about dismantling LSG with guile and smarts. 

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