Bhuvneshwar Kumar four wickets away from picking most T20I wickets in a calendar year

Seasoned pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar  is on the verge of shattering a unique record as India and New Zealand lock horns in the first T20I at the Sky Stadium in Wellington on Friday, November 18. He is a part of the pace battery for this series.

If Bhuvneshwar Kumar can succeed in picking up four wickets in the series, then he will end up registering his name in the T20I record books for taking the most number of wickets in a calendar year.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar looks to make a statement with the ball in hand in New Zealand

The 32-year-old pacer has already registered 36 scalps to his name from 30 matches at an economy rate of seven in 2022. A four-wicket haul in the first T20I or even in next three T20Is against the Kiwis will be enough for him to become the bowler with the most number of wickets in a calendar year in the shortest format.

As of now, Ireland’s Joshua Little occupies the top spot in this category with 39 wickets from 26 matches at an economy rate of 7.58.

The UP cricketer would be looking to make a strong statement as this could well be his last chance to prove that he is still good enough to be considered for the shortest format after the Men in Blue’s T20 World Cup ouster last week.

While the swing bowler only managed four wickets from six matches in the T20 World Cup in Australia, he finished as India’s most economical bowler with an economy of 6.16. Nonetheless, he as well as the other Indian bowlers had a day to forget in the semifinal against England as none of them could make any impact in the wickets column defending 168 as India bowed out of the tournament with a 10-wicket defeat.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be spearheading the Indian pace attack in this series in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah who is yet to completely recover from a back injury and senior pacer Mohammed Shami who has been excluded from this tour. Giving Kumar company will be two youngsters and emerging speedsters- Arshdeep Singh, and, Umran Malik.