Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya lauded his teammate and fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Pandya tagged Bhuvi as the โgreatest bowler of all time.โ Notably, Bhuvi is currently leading the Purple Cap race with a total of 21 wickets in 11 games, and the best bowling figures of 23/4. The veteran bowler is scalping wickets at an average of 15.28 and an economy of 7.46. During the clash against the Mumbai Indians, the โSwing Kingโ not only delivered a key performance with the ball, but also came to the teamโs rescue with the bat.
Following the game, Pandya hailed Bhuvi as โthe greatest bowler of all timeโ while heaping praise on the Indian pace veteran. The 35-year-old also called Bhuvi โone of the best bowlers India has ever produced.โ โHe played all formats for India for several years. It is not like he bowls in the middle overs. He bowls in powerplay, which is hard; death overs are even harder. In IPL, he has played over 200 games and has bowled at an economy rate of around seven. The way he has consistently done his job silently, he is a champion bowler," Pandya added.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens up on India return aspirations
๐๐ต๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ต๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐น๐ค๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ต ๐ซก Close to two decades of discipline, progress, and even in the era of the Impact Player rule where bowlers are taken for runs, what makes Bhuvi one of the toughest bowlers to face -โฆ pic.twitter.com/9ING9Ugae7
โ Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 12, 2026
Since his staggering performance against the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026, fans and pundits have been demanding that Kumar should receive a call from the national team. However, the bowler also opened up on the aspirations and said that he has stopped thinking about it altogether. "I am not thinking about India's comeback. It has been many years since I stopped keeping or making long-term goals, because whenever I did that, it never worked for me,โ he stated.
โI am happy that I have played 200 matches and taken so many wickets, in the powerplay and at the death. I think it is all a reward for what I have done over the years. There have been good years and bad years. Honestly, at this point in time, I am not feeling anything special,โ Kumar added. โOf course, I would be lying if I said that I will not feel it later on. Once I stop playing, I think these will be memories that will come in handy later. But at this point in time, for me, I think it is very normal," he added.
Notably, itโs been over two years since Kumar last appeared for India. He has picked 63 wickets for Men in Blue in Tests, 141 in ODIs and 90 in the T20I format.
