‘I always argue with Bhuvi. He lost 50 red-ball wickets in the last 2 years,’ says Ravi Shastri

Former Indian Men's Cricket team coach Ravi Shastri lauds Bhuvneshwar Kumar as India's all-format player. In a recent talk with ESPN Cricinfo, the 59-year-old claimed how much he wants the pacer to be fit and play all three formats for India.

Bhuvneshwar has been an integral part of the Indian team for almost a decade. Since his debut in 2012, he has won many matches for the 'Men in Blue' and his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is regarded as one of the biggest reasons for the Hyderabad-based team's consistent performance. 

Bhuvneshwar was his captain's go-to bowler on most occasions in all formats. So far, the only slip in his career has been his fitness issues. 

On Tuesday (May 17), Bhuvneshwar delivered a master class in the penultimate over, bowling a wicket maiden, bringing the Sunrisers back in the game, which they won by 3 runs at the end. 

Upon being asked if he performed better than expected, the former Indian coach said, "I'm not surprised at all. Every time I meet him, I have an argument with him. I say if he can only focus and work harder on his fitness, you know his experience, his ability in all formats of the game is remarkable. that if he can just concentrate and work harder on his fitness, experience, and ability in all formats of the game, he can achieve incredible results."

The Meerut-born cricketer played his last Test match for India 4 years ago. The Indian Test team missed his service big time during this period, particularly on their England and New Zealand tour. His skill sets are unmatched in the red-ball format, but he could not remain fit.

"I told him, every time we toured England or New Zealand, the guy is unfit. I said, 'You've lost yourself 50 red-ball wickets in the last couple of years.' But if he stays fit he becomes an automatic choice even in the Indian team, forget Sunrisers." the former Indian all-rounder said in ESPN Cricinfo's T20 Time Out.

Bhuvneshwar was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for 4.20 crores in the mega auction after being left out from retentions for the 2022 season. However, the franchise continued to show faith in their all-time leading wicket-taker after two below par seasons in 2020 and 2021. 

The India international repaid the faith shown by the franchise by coming back to the rhythm. Thus far, he has bowled the third highest number of successful yorkers in the death overs with a spellbinding economy of 8.79.