While the 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s fearless hitting has made him this season’s highest run-getter, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, at 36, has exploited that same trait in several new-age batsmen to emerge as one of the league’s top wicket-takers. Though he hasn’t yet got Suryavanshi’s wicket, Bhuvneshwar’s 26 scalps include the who’s who of Gen Next daredevils—Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Sahil Parakh, Sameer Rizvi, Ayush Mhatre, and a few more.
The sly old fox has reminded the young turks that their stand-and-deliver, relentless attacking approach, though very popular with fans, isn’t bulletproof. He isn’t allowing the relentlessly attacking kids to run away with his sport. Not that he is getting any credit for keeping bowlers relevant in T20 cricket. But then, that has been Bhuvneshwar’s story all along.
As a rookie bowler, he notched Sachin Tendulkar’s first duck in domestic cricket. He had a dream ODI debut against Pakistan, running through their top-order. He is on the Lord’s honours board. He has two Purple Caps and two IPL titles.
Still, Bhuvi isn’t even the most talked-about cricketer from his hometown Meerut. That honour goes to Praveen Kumar. In RCB, there are Virat Kohli and now Rajat Patidar, players with more star power than him. Not that he minds or works towards building an aura around him. A man of few words, he isn’t just understated but does his best to underplay himself.
Once, an interviewer asked him the secret of his swing bowling and suggested a few options: Is it because of the several ball-manufacturing units in Meerut? Was it because Bittu, his childhood name, was passionate about kite flying, a daily activity that helped him develop dexterous wrists? As if to cut the conversation short or probably not keen to intellectualise his art, he agreed to both. If easy access to a gleaming red cherry and kite flying made one the Sultan of Swing, India would be brimming with bowlers of Bhuvneshwar’s skill. Bhuvi, the Sultan of Swing, didn’t mind the image of a kite-flying Bittu.