Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recent absence from the national team has been nothing less than a puzzle. The fast-bowler did not show any kind of discomfort while bowling in the World Cup or the tour of West Indies. However, he did not make it to the T20I squads for the series against South Africa and the upcoming one against Bangladesh.
What made things even more confusing was that the selectors decided against explaining the pacer’s absence. Well, there is much more to the case than what is meeting the eye at the moment. As per a report in The Times of India, he is presently undergoing strength and conditioning programs at NCA to recover.
The report claimed that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been carrying the issue since July 2018 but wasn’t treated properly.
“They must come up with a clear explanation of why it is taking Bhuvi so long to get back. The board announced that Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya needed to travel to England. Bumrah didn’t even need surgery,” an official said.
“He was not treated properly. His injury was allowed to aggravate because the team wanted to take him to the World Cup,” a source said.
NCA has been under scanner in recent times for the way it has dealt with the injured players. Last year, it had made a mess of Wriddhiman Saha’s injury and the player had to remain on the sidelines for nearly a year. There is no clarity over Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury and one can only hope that the pacer returns at the earliest. It would be interesting to see whether the board comes up with an official statement on his fitness. He hasn’t played any competitive match since the third ODI against West in August.
