Dinesh Karthik reveals how India coach Rahul Dravid has been 'appreciative' of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's contributions

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, one of the finest new-ball bowlers that the Indian team has seen in recent times, was a permanent member of the XI in ODIs and T20Is till last year. He, however, has been kept out of the team after India’s semi-final exit in the ICC T20 World Cup last year.

While Bhuvi is yet to make a comeback, veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recently opened up on how coach Rahul Dravid continues to believe in Kumar and has been appreciative of his contributions.

Dinesh Karthik, during an interaction on the ‘The Rise of New India’ show on Cricbuzz Plus, shared the appreciative gesture that Dravid showed toward Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Recalling a team meeting held after a major game, Karthik opened up on how Dravid praised the bowler’s consistent efforts for the team after one of India’s recent victories.

Noting that the former India captain spoke about Kumar for ‘five minutes’, Dinesh Karthik said, “Just saying that he goes very unassumed, very quiet and I think it is very important to give the devil its due in a team meeting. He spoke about Bhuvneshwar Kumar and how he’s been profound in Indian cricket for the last so many years in white-ball cricket.”

Karthik also praised Kumar stating he is the one person who has consistently performed with the ball and has been a prolific performer for Team India. “A lot of credit must be given to Bhuvneshwar Kumar,” he said.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s performance

The Meerut-born cricketer has time and again proven his potential as one of the best performers for Team India. With his skills with the new ball and variations towards the end, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken 90 wickets in the shortest format with two five-wicket hauls. Not too long ago, he was India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is before being surpassed by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

He also performed well in the 2022 Asia Cup and has bagged ‘Player of the Series’ awards a few times in the past two years. However, it was during last year’s T20 World Cup that he failed to live up to expectations. He has remained out of favour since then.

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