Bhuvneshwar Kumar has struggled since his return. Photo: BCCI Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his much-awaited India return after four years and made it to the T20I squad for the away series against New Zealand. The right-arm pacer has struggled since his return. He went wicketless and leaked 49 runs in four overs as NZ put on a big total of 225/4 on the board in the first game. He spent 50 runs and only scalped one wicket in the second T20I. NZ scored 180 in the fixture. Bhuvneshwar has only scalped one wicket and leaked runs at an economy rate of more than 12. Morne Morkel has reacted to Bhuvneshwar's below-par performance since his return and asked for more time for him. Speaking to the media ahead of the third game, the India bowling coach said: "Look, I've got a lot of sympathy for his return. The reason why I say that is, one, there will be expectation after four years to come out. He's done exceptionally well in the IPL. He's bowled really well. One is to block the expectation factor out. Two, leading into his selection, I mean, there was a month of cricket where, yes, he trained, but this is a different beast coming and playing international cricket where the margins are small. So he had to come in with limited training because of the schedule to get himself ready. So the skill and his experience, everything is there. But at the end of the day, we have to respect the game of cricket and you have to be able to allow him to just find his feet in some of the games." Bhuvneshwar Kumar shone for RCB in IPL. Photo: BCCI Bhuvneshwar forced his way back into the T20I team with his brilliant performance in IPL 2025 and 2026. Playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Bhuvneshwar scalped 27 wickets in IPL 2025 and followed up with 28 wickets. RCB ended their title drought and won back-to-back IPL titles. Rishav Narang is an experienced writer with nine years of experience in sports journalism. He extensively writes on cricket and covers live matches, b... View More