India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar rolled back the years, taking career-best figures of 8-41 in his first first-class appearance in six years.

Turning out for Uttar Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy fixture against Bengal, Bhuvneshwar took the first eight-wicket haul of his professional career as Bengal were bowled out for 188. Earlier in the game, Uttar Pradesh were rolled for just 60 in the first innings of the match.

It was a welcome return to action for Bhuvneshwar whose previous outing in first-class cricket came in the 2018 Johannesburg Test against South Africa. On that occasion, Bhuvneshwar was named Player of the Match for an outstanding all-round performance in an India victory.

Since then, Bhuvneshwar has been plagued by a series of injuries that have restricted him solely to appearances in limited-overs cricket. The swing bowler, who turns 34 next month, is also out of the national picture in white-ball cricket at this point in time – his last India appearance in any format was against New Zealand at Napier in late 2022.

Bhuvneshwar was in scintillating form against Bengal – three of his wickets were caught behind by Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper Aryan Juyal, three were lbw and two were bowled. His 8-41 was the first eight-wicket haul claimed in this season’s Ranji Trophy.

Given his age and the emergence of younger seam options, it is possible that Bhuvneshwar has already played his last Test match. If that is the case, he will finish his career with an outstanding record in the format. Bhuvneshwar took 63 wickets at 26.09 in Test cricket; of India seamers to take more than 50 Test wickets, only Jasprit Bumrah has a lower average. He also was able to enjoy success wherever he played, averaging less than 27 with the ball in every country in which he played more than one Test.

Watch: Bhuvneshwar Kumar takes 8-41

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