Bhuvneshwar: 'Death Bowling is like an instinct'

Bhuvneshwar Kumar may be a little understood, but he is a bonafide IPL superstar. No short bowler took more gates than his 193 in the tournament, and only Yuzvendra Chahal (219 at the time of writing) is in front of him in the overall list. And he found ways to remain relevant in a rapidly changing game by “being proactive – one step in front of the dough”.

His new/old team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has to remember one season, and part of the reason is the combination that Bhuvneshwar has formed with Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal: So far they have 40 gates. RCB was also the second economy Bowling team during death (over 17 to 20) in IPL 2025, the runs at 10.23, a shadow behind Mumbai Indian (Wed) 10.22.

“I am back in RCB after 16 years and I am very happy to be back,” said Bhuvneshwar in a video published by The Franchise. “From the 2008-09 season or 2010 until now in 2025, things are very different. I had come in as a young player and now I came back with so much more experience.

“If you talk about Yash and Josh and Drei – we are the same, but also differently. If we talk about the similar aspects, we can swing three. If you then look at Josh Hazlewood, he has the height, and Yash is a pacer with the left weapon that creates a different angle. A lot.

“And when they look back into the season, there were times when I was not doing well, but they secured me, or if someone hadn't had a good day, the rest of the bowlers got up. So we complement each other and it is a great sign.”

Bhuvneshwar had two good excursions in Bengaluru this season and replied identical numbers of 2 for 26 against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), but both came in defeats against RCB when they were at home in the middle of a horror run. The great effort came in Delhi when he played a major role in RCB's victory by sending KL Rahul, Ashutosh Sharma and Tristan Stubbs back to 3 for 33. Rahul and Ashutosh were over the 17th over and Stubbs in the 20th in the 11 over Bhuvneshwar he died five gates this season and an economic rate of 10.09.

“Death bowling is like an instinct. It depends on how the situation of the game is and what you think,” said Bhuvneshwar, the only bowler who won the purple cap in the successive seasons – 2016 and 2017. “When there are team meetings, they plan things in a certain way. But often they do it differently because this instinct uses.

“Sometimes there is a normal situation, but you have an instinct that the dough will do something else. Therefore we call it proactive – to be one step ahead of the dough. There are times when it doesn't work, but as long as you are proactive and you are the dough to do the things you want, you are at stake.”