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India’s flight to Africa is ready for takeoff, but is Bhuvneshwar even reaching for his boarding pass?

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Why Bhuvneshwar Kumar needs Vijay Hazare Trophy for ODI World Cup 2027 spot?

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Source: Getty Images)

Rupesh Kumar

Rupesh Kumar

Published - 06 Oct 2026, 01:51 PM Read time - 3 mins

If you're a fan of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and want to relive the magic of his swing bowling, a simple YouTube search using four keywords, "Bhuvneshwar Kumar swing bowling", will throw up countless videos of him making the ball talk, bending it around corners and making even the most accomplished batters look like lambs lining up for slaughter.

The videos invariably leave you wanting more, along with a lingering thought: can't the man from Meerut do it once again in India's blue jersey at the ODI World Cup in southern Africa? 

Bhuvneshwar still has it, and RCB's last two IPL campaigns are a testament to that.

His craft is akin to hypnotism. He flummoxes batters, luring them into following the arc of the swing before drawing an edge or rattling the stumps, much like a hypnotist casting a spell and sending people into a trance-like state.

India's recent performances with the ball in 50-over cricket have only amplified the calls for Bhuvneshwar's return. The veteran himself has expressed a desire to make an ODI comeback and play at the World Cup. But he is not lining up for the kind of audition that could pave his way back into the ODI setup.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) is India's premier domestic 50-over competition, and Bhuvneshwar has not played in it for the last two years. His most recent appearance in the tournament came in 2023, when he claimed 11 wickets in five matches at an average of 16.90 and an economy rate of 4.96.

Fans may argue that his IPL form is enough. In all fairness, it is not. At 36, Bhuvneshwar needs to prove he can bowl a full quota of 10 overs with relative ease while producing the same brand of hypnotic swing that has long been his trademark in T20 cricket.

Virat Kohli (37) and Rohit Sharma (39) are both in a similar age bracket to Bhuvneshwar. Yet, they have featured in the Vijay Hazare Trophy when asked by the selection panel, underlining their determination to be on that plane when it takes off for southern Africa.

For Bhuvneshwar, who is in the twilight of his career, this becomes even more important because a fast bowler carries a heavier workload than a batter and is generally more susceptible to injuries. The selectors need complete certainty before taking a punt on the 36-year-old warhorse. 

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has already drawn a line in the sand, saying that players need to be able to bowl 10 overs to be considered for the World Cup, and that India cannot afford to head into the tournament half-cooked.

Therefore, regardless of how well Bhuvneshwar performs in the IPL, he needs to secure his boarding pass through the Vijay Hazare Trophy to stand a realistic chance of boarding India's flight to southern Africa before it departs for the World Cup.