Former Indian batter and analyst Mohammad Kaif reckoned that earning an Indian cap has become way too easy at the moment. Notably, his comments came right after India’s T20I squad was unveiled for the forthcoming New Zealand tour.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif showered praise on the veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for earning the India cap once again, adding that it was the right call to bring him back when the current bowlers are struggling.
“The Indian cap is being given away for free right now. Players are being called because we do not have bowlers. But Bhuvi has not taken it for free. He has earned this cap. He has broken the doors and come back. Even when he was dropped, it was because of a few bad games. Look at his India record. Look at this economy. See the bowlers now, there is no limit to leaking runs. It is better to bring a tried and tested player back. So this is absolutely the right call,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Kaif revealed that Bhuvneshwar Kumar was made the scapegoat after India’s huge defeats against Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and against England in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
“India lost to Pakistan by ten wickets in the 2021 World Cup, and Bhuvi was made the scapegoat. Batters should have been made the scapegoats. You scored just 150 runs. Most of those batters are still playing today. But he was removed. And another game against England in 2022. These two matches led to his downfall, but the real culprits were the batters in both games. Both times, scores were under par. He was never bad as such, but he was made the scapegoat. It was not his bowling form. It was because of big defeats,” he added.
Speaking about Bhuvi’s T20I record, he has played 87 games, picking up 90 wickets at an average of 23.1 and an economy of 6.96 with two five-wicket hauls.
