‘Unko select karke koi meherbani nahi ki’: Wasim Jaffer on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s India return | Cricket News
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to India’s T20I squad has received strong backing from former India batter Wasim Jaffer, who believes the experienced pacer’s selection is based on his performances and fitness, rather than any favour.Bhuvneshwar, 36, has been recalled for India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand, beginning October 22. Jaffer feels the veteran seamer should have been brought back into the national setup earlier.“Der aye durust aye. Wo deserve karte hain (Better late than never. He deserves this). Unko select karke koi meherbani nahi ki hai kisi ne (nobody has done a favour by selecting him). His performances have been there, and his fitness has been good. I am clueless as to why he was dropped earlier,” Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.India will play five T20Is from October 22 to November 1 in New Zealand. The first match of the series is at Christchurch on October 22, followed by second on October 22 at the same venue. The third T20I, on October 27, will be played at Wellington while the fourth and fifth T20Is will be on October 30 and November 1 at Auckland and Hamilton respectively.
‘Age ko thoda side mein rakhna chaiye’
Jaffer pointed to Bhuvneshwar’s fitness and consistent performances in the IPL and for Uttar Pradesh while questioning why age was used as a factor against him.“He has maintained his fitness really well. Whenever he has the got oportunity, he has done really well. He has always done well in the IPL and for Uttar Pradesh. So, what was the reason he was not getting picked?,” he said.“Age ko thoda side mein rakhna chaiye (We should keep age aside). We have young players, but we should not neglect those who are doing well because you ultimately need experience when there is pressure. You cannot play with an entirely young team. You need to have that mixture of experience and youth,” Jaffer said.Bhuvneshwar has played 21 Tests, 121 ODIs and 87 T20Is for India, taking 90 wickets in the shortest format. His experience could also be useful to the younger pacers in the current setup.
India’s T20I squad vs New Zealand:
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 Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.
