At 36, Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be past his prime in the longer formats of the game. But in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he continues to have a prominent presence, and leads the list of wicket-takers this season. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

It’s been 16 years since Bhuvneshwar Kumar first ran in to deliver a ball with that aesthetically pleasing action in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Yes, the wrinkles are becoming more marked, and the body is demanding more delicate attention. But the effectiveness has barely diminished.

The veteran bowler gave another glimpse of his otherworldly accuracy and the ability to extract the maximum out of a surface with a four-wicket haul in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s riveting win over the Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Sunday.

How the wickets came about was the perfect exhibition of the pacer’s brilliance. First, he read the surface well, forcing Ryan Rickleton to play a suboptimal across-the-line shot, which was accepted with glee at mid-off. Pre-empting Rohit Sharma’s penchant for taking on the bowlers, he switched to a knuckleball that swung off a length. Suryakumar Yadav was welcomed to the crease with a ball that most out-of-form batters would dread, right on the ‘Test-match’ length.

The final wicket, courtesy of a yorker on the stumps, capped off the perfect bowling clinic. For those who lost track of his ability with the bat, there was a first-ball six in the last over of the tense chase, his first in the tournament since 2016! “It is quite embarrassing,” he said with a smirk when the stat was pointed out.

Still in the game

While most athletes credit a dream or an incentive as their driving force, Bhuvneshwar is slightly different. “Motivation is a very overrated word for me. What keeps me going is discipline. It maybe cliche, but it is wanting to go when you are tired; that consistency and hunger that translates to the field as well.

“I don’t think my skills have changed since I debuted. The mental aspect — accepting that the batters play differently from 10 years ago and are going to come hard at you — is helping me stay relevant,” he elucidated during a conversation with select media.

The Uttar Pradesh quick has already picked up 21 wickets for defending champion RCB this edition, his highest season tally since 2017. But what really stands out is the economy rate he is operating at. Despite records for the loftiest totals and the highest chases tumbling, Bhuvneshwar has conceded at a rate of just 7.46.

“When you take wickets regularly, you force the batter to take an extra couple of balls at the crease. The wickets column also gives you confidence that you will execute better. I am still trying to keep things simple. The ball is coming out of the hand nicely. It’s swinging. It’s getting edges. Everything is falling into place,” he added.

Bhuvneshwar isn’t wrong when he says that he is keeping it simple. The India pacer has shown immense confidence in sticking to the good length. Ten out of the 21 wickets he has picked this season have been at this nagging length. This is a marked difference from modern pacers who are being forced to go extremely defensive against the disdainful batters in the league, especially since the introduction of the Impact Player rule.

“The length ball trend is back, but that is not for everyone. If there is help in the wicket, the length balls are effective,” the veteran pacer said. “The younger generation doesn’t care who is bowling or what the wicket is; they just go for it. They are being rude to seniors,” he teased.

Clarity and commitment

At 36, Bhuvneshwar now picks and chooses the tournaments he plays in. The UPT20 league, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL are the three major competitions he participates in each year.

The time away from the game has played a key part in the RCB pacer playing admirably well in the current season, he says. With more empty slots in the calendar, he has enough time to meticulously work on his game and keep himself primed for peak performance in the IPL.

“You have to come fully prepared when you come for the IPL. The net sessions [in between games] are only for revision. Whatever you have practised throughout the year, you come here and try to apply, whether it’s a new delivery or sticking to your strength. The preparation makes a lot of difference,” Bhuvneshwar explained.

Bhuvneshwar says he has long come to terms with the fact that he had to give up on other formats and international cricket, in a bid to keep himself ready for the shortest format.

“I had made peace with it the day after I was dropped from the national team. It didn’t take me much time to think [on how to proceed]. With all these T20 competitions, there is enough in a year to be in touch with cricket,” the quick said.

“It was easy for me to detach myself from all-format international cricket because I had been there for ten years. I have seen everything. Every cricketer’s dream is to play for the country, and I have played for almost a decade,” he added.

Bhuvneshwar’s decision to trim down his cricket has come from a place of clarity and self-acceptance rather than forced compliance.

Even if he doesn’t don the Indian blue ever again, he will go down in history as a short-format great and, more importantly, as a paragon of keeping your game aligned to the demands of the ever-evolving sport.

Published on May 12, 2026