Ajit Agarkar Factor Behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Absence From Team India, Inside Story Of Selection Details: Report

Veteran India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday returned to the national side nearly four years after his last appearance, for the upcoming five-match T20I series in New Zealand later this month. The 36-year-old Meerut-born Bhuvneshwar played a stellar role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's back-to-back IPL title triumphs, claiming 17 wickets last season while tormenting some of the best batters in the business with swing and seam movement during the powerplay. However, Bhuvneshwar's comeback did not happen during Ajit Agarkar's tenure, as the former chairman of selectors was not inclined to look back at experienced players despite their performances.

It is understood that Central Zone selector Rudra Pratap Singh never found much support when it came to the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar, but once Agarkar was gone, it was not very difficult to convince Pragyan Ojha and the other selectors about the value of the experienced seamer, especially in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.

With his experience, he can also guide the likes of Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav, both of whom are being viewed as potential contenders for the 2028 T20 World Cup in Australia.

Apart from his 21 Tests and 121 ODIs, Bhuvneshwar has played 87 T20Is and taken 90 wickets.

The squad announced by the BCCI, the first after the exit of former chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and with Pragyan Ojha serving as interim chairman, also features Varun Chakravarthy, who returns after an injury ruled him out of the Asian Games.

Most of the T20I squad currently featuring in the West Indies series picked itself, but Bhuvneshwar's comeback will also inspire Mohammed Shami.

India will play five T20Is from October 22 to November 1 in New Zealand. The first match of the series will be played in Christchurch on October 22, followed by the second at the same venue on October 24.

The third T20I, on October 27, will be played in Wellington, while the fourth and fifth matches will be held on October 30 and November 1 in Auckland and Hamilton respectively.

India will also play a five-match ODI series and a two-Test series after the T20I leg.

India's T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (vc), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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