NEW DELHI: With Bhuvneshwar Kumar running in, batters don’t fear getting hit. He bowls in the 130 kph range, generally hits a fuller length, but it is the swing — his primary art — that has instilled fear in batters’ minds over the years.Coming from the Meerut fast-bowling gharana (school) — with Praveen Kumar as its most renowned ustaad (artist) — Bhuvneshwar Kumar is wired to pitch it up and make the ball dance to his tunes. He has never relied on raw pace to unsettle batters or put fear into their minds; his craft lies in subtle movement, not intimidation.The 35-year-old, who has played 21 Tests, 121 ODIs and 87 T20Is, has picked up 294 international wickets and played a pivotal role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ending their 18-year Indian Premier League (IPL) title drought. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 17 wickets in IPL 2025. The medium pacer is a certified IPL legend with 198 scalps to his name at an excellent economy of 7.69 in 190 matches.TimesofIndia.com caught up with Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the sidelines of an event, where the bowler opened up with rare clarity about swing bowling’s future, why workload management is misunderstood, how young pacers should think, and why Test cricket will soon become a conscious career choice.Excerpts…
Is swing bowling a dying art in India?
No, I don’t think so. And it’s not because I’m still an active cricketer. There are many bowlers who have this art. Maybe you don’t know their names yet because they haven’t played for India. I haven’t worked with anyone at a personal level, but I’m sure there are a lot of bowlers at the Under-19 level — players even I don’t know yet — who are good swing bowlers.In cricket, we say things like swing bowling is a dying art, but it never really happens. Someone will burst onto the scene, and they need a platform to showcase their skillset — whether it is the IPL or the Indian team — for fans to know about that individual. So I am sure there are many who can swing the ball both ways.
Agar mai kisi ko seekhna chahunga toh mai nahi sikha sakta
Bhuvneshwar Kumar on swing bowling
Did swing bowling come naturally to you?
I think it was natural. Agar mai kisi ko seekhna chahunga toh mai nahi sikha sakta (I don’t think I can teach anyone). Of course, I can tell them the basics required to swing the ball. But there is no guarantee that the ball will swing.There are some things in cricket — whether it is batting, bowling or any skill — that are natural to some extent. After that, you can improve or polish them.
Lucknow: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a delivery during the IPL 2025 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants, in Lucknow. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)
Your career has been ravaged by injuries. What’s your take on workload management and what would be your advice for a budding bowler?
I think workload management is a very important aspect in cricket — but not at the Under-19 level. Because if you teach Under-19 players what workload is, I think they won’t reach the level where they understand the threshold of their body.Workload is important for those playing in all formats for the country. Those who play throughout the year need workload management. Domestic cricket is played over six months; in the other half, players train and play local matches, but they get enough time to rest.
Agar aapke team ka koi bowler hai toh aap chahenge ki wo not injured ho, of course wo machine toh nahi hai, machine ke bhi aap part change kar sakte ho but human body waise work nahi karti
Bhuvneshwar Kumar on workload management
This workload concept is for players who are playing year-round — especially those representing India in all formats.Agar aapke team ka koi bowler hai toh aap chahenge ki wo not injured ho, of course wo machine toh nahi hai, machine ke bhi aap part change kar sakte ho but human body waise work nahi karti. (If you have a bowler in your team, you’d obviously want him to be not injured. He’s not a machine — even machines allow you to replace parts, but the human body doesn’t work that way.)Agar ek player injured hota hai, waapis aane mey thoda time lagta hai, rehab mey waqt lagta hai, wo confidence waapis aane mey time lagta hai. (If a player gets injured, it takes time for him to return, time to go through rehab, and time to regain full confidence.)So workload is important to keep your best bowlers injury-free so they can maintain their form and rhythm for a long time.
AHMEDABAD, INDIA – JUNE 03: Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Royal Challengers Bengaluru celebrates with teammate Krunal Pandya after dismissing Nehal Wadhera of Punjab Kings during the 2025 IPL Final match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at Narendra Modi Stadium on June 03, 2025, in Ahmedabad, India. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
Why do bowlers take longer than batters to return from injury? Is it a mental block?
You can say the body of a batter and a bowler is a little different. But it is certainly not a mental block. The workload of a batter and a bowler is different. The body’s tolerance is very different. There is a lot of load on the body if you are a bowler and not so much on a batter comparatively.So even if a batsman is 90% fit, he can manage. But if a bowler is 90% fit, we still say that he is not 10%. There is a different way of seeing it. Fast bowling takes a toll on the body, so you need more than 100% fitness. It is not a mental block — just two very different skills and two very different bodies.
Playing these leagues is not a shortcut. I think this is the way forward
Bhvneshwar Kumar on the new ecosystem in cricket
Do youngsters these days prefer state T20 leagues and the IPL and look for a shortcut to represent India?
Jab maine khelna shuru kiya tha toh Ranji Trophy ek platform tha. Aap Ranji Trophy mey achha karoge toh uske aage Duleep Trophy kheloge aur phir India. (When I started playing, the Ranji Trophy was the platform. If you performed well there, you played the Duleep Trophy, and from there, you made your way to the Indian team.)Having said that, playing these leagues is not a shortcut. I think this is the way forward. If you do well in the state T20 league, you get a chance in the IPL. If you do well in the IPL, you can perform at the international level.But if you don’t play first-class cricket, it is very difficult to play Test cricket. You can play T20s, you can play one-day cricket, but if you want to play Tests for your country. If you want to be part of the Indian team then you have to play first-class cricket.
New Chandigarh: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar celebrates the wicket of Punjab Kings’ Prabhsimran Singh during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Qualifier 1 cricket match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in New Chandigarh. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary) (PTI05_29_2025_000358A)
Bowling more is also a form of practice. If your body is not used to that much load, then even if you are picked for the Test team, you won’t survive physically. I’m not talking about skills, physically, you won’t survive.Going forward, I think players will have to decide whether they want to play Test cricket or not. I am sure this is going to happen. Many players will make up their minds that they don’t want to play the longer format or even 50-over cricket — they only want to play T20s because it is a shorter format. It will happen, but it depends on what the player wants.
Poll
Do you believe swing bowling is a dying art in cricket?
When did you come up with the idea to start a cricket app?
As a cricketer, when you check scores and open any app, a lot of things come to your mind. It was in the pipeline. If you see, there are other apps as well — apps for international matches, domestic matches and local matches too. The vision was to bring everything together. With Cricketgiri, we are trying to bring everything together with extra emphasis on weather updates, which no other app shows.
