Bhuvneshwar Kumar has looked off-colour in the Indian Premier League with his death bowling, in particular, struggling. The quick will have to find his rhythm or risk losing his spot in India’s T20 World Cup side, writes Sarah Waris.

After a lengthy injury-ravaged stretch, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, playing his first game for India in 15 months, scripted a memorable comeback in the LOIs against England earlier this year. In the ODI series, where 350 was hardly enough, Kumar gave away only 4.65 runs an over, including being hit for four every 7.5 balls, and was equally impressive in the T20Is, conceding 6.38 runs per over. A four was hit off him every 8.3 balls — much lower than the series average of 5.7 — and such was his impact that senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could not stop gushing over the return of their star.

Being made vice-captain for the tour to Sri Lanka only displayed the management’s faith in the swing bowler, but as the T20 World Cup nears and the performances take a dip, his selection remains much-talked-about.

Are his showings really that bad?

In IPL 2021, Kumar has picked up just five five wickets in nine matches at an average of 58 and an economy rate of 8.52. Never before has he leaked more than 7.87 runs per over in an IPL season, and never before has he recorded a strike-rate in excess of 31 any year. This year his strike-rate is up near 41. On a sluggish track against Chennai Super Kings at Sharjah on Thursday, Bhuvneshwar was his team’s most second-most expensive bowler, giving up 34 runs in his four overs. He sprayed deliveries down the leg side, sent balls in the arc repeatedly, and erred with his lengths in a 13-run 19th over, costing his side in a tense game.

Known for his tight bowling in the death, Bhuvneshwar’s waywardness against CSK at a crucial stage was just a glimpse of the woes the Meerut bowler has faced in the last few editions of the IPL. In this edition, he has given away runs at 11.15 an over in the last five overs of the innings to make him the most expensive India quick in that period (min. four overs bowled in the death). He has also leaked 17 boundaries thus far and has conceded more than 40 runs in a match twice. Overall, since the beginning of 2018, Bhuvneshwar has given away more than 10 runs an over at the death, a steep decline from his former parsimony.

His long injury layoffs have coincided with the rise of Deepak Chahar, another swing bowler, who emerged as the go-to player for India with his varied skillset across phases in Bhuvneshwar’s absence. The CSK bowler, initially a new ball specialist, has impressed with his repertoire of variations, and if not for Bhuvneswar’s fine comeback against England, would have been a certainty in India’s T20 World Cup side.

The Rajasthan cricketer’s lack of pace initially meant that he could not rely on his yorkers over after over, which was a major reason why MS Dhoni would finish his four overs in one spell with the new ball regularly in IPL 2018. However, constant hard work and the introduction of an array of cutters, slower bouncers and the knuckleball allows him to excel at the death as well, a role he has taken on to perfection of late. Though he has taken only five wickets in the last five overs of the innings since IPL 2020, he has controlled the run-flow, conceding eight an over, and has been even more miserly this season, with an economy rate of 7.40 in the last five overs of an innings.

Bhuvneshwar, previously capably of cranking up his pace up to 140kph, a factor in making him a threat with the old ball, has been struggling desperately for any sort of rhythm recently. His speed has reduced meaning he is no longer the threat that he used to be. In the low-scoring series against Sri Lanka, Bhuvneshwar gave away 7.71 runs at the death in two T20Is, including two sixes, the most by any bowler. With Mohammad Shami’s improved showing with the older ball, India can afford to include Chahar in the T20 World Cup team to handle the overs upfront. In worst-case scenarios, the CSK player can be counted upon to bowl with Jasprit Bumrah at the end to increase the options in front of Virat Kohli.

As the pressure rises on Bhuvneshwar to keep his spot in the World Cup team ahead of the October 10 deadline, an opportunity also presents itself to Chahar, who has been named as a standby. If the stalwart is unable to show signs of returning to his former form, an omission could be imminent. A storied India career could be about to come to a sudden end.