Bhuvneshwar Kumar was disappointing in the ODIs against South Africa© AFP
India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been under the scanner for his performances against South Africa in the first two ODIs of the three-match series, which India lost by 0-3. The veteran pacer has been pretty disappointing, leaking runs heavily. He also failed to pick up a single wicket in the series. He was eventually dropped from India’s playing XI for the third and final game at the Newlands in Cape Town. Citing Bhuvneshwar’s poor fine, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has asked the managed to look at Deepak Chahar as a replacement for the 31-year-old in white-ball cricket, adding that the 29-year-old can also make a difference with the bat down the order.
“I think it’s time to look at Deepak Chahar now. He is pretty much the same bowler, can swing the ball both ways, and bats handily down the order,” Gavaskar said during a discussion Sports Today.
Incidentally it was Chahar who replaced Bhuvneshwar in the third ODI and nearly took India home with his superlative batting effort. Chahar also picked up a couple of wickets with the new ball.
Despite suggesting that Bhuvneshwar has been a “tremendous servant” of the Indian cricket team, Gavaskar suggested that it’s time to look at someone else since for the longer run the veteran cricketer is struggling to find his rhythm.
“Bhuvi has been a tremendous servant of Indian cricket. But, in the last year or so, even in franchise cricket, he has been expensive. He used to bowl those brilliant yorkers and slower deliveries, but those are not working anymore as the opposition is studying you all the time and they will know how to be prepared for it. So maybe it is time to look at somebody else,” he added.
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India’s South Africa tour ended on a disappointing note as the visitors lost the final match by four runs despite needing just 10 in the last three overs with three wickets in hand. Chahar, who played a brilliant knock of 54 off just 34 balls, was out in the first ball of the 48th over. India’s last two wickets added just five more runs as South Africa took the series 3-0.
India had also lost the Test series 1-2.
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