Former England captain Michael Vaughan heaped praise on Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar after a series of consistent performances during the limited-overs series against England. Kumar made a return to the Indian team after a long-term injury, which kept him on the sidelines for the entirety of 2020.
Vaughan called Kumar the 'most skillful white-ball bowler' in the world, adding that no one can move the ball as subtly as the Indian pacer.
"Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the most skillful white-ball bowler in the world. I can't think of any other [bowler] that bowls at 80-odd miles an hour and has that white ball moving as he does," Vaughan said in a conversation on Cricbuzz.
"There's no one I know that can just get the ball to subtly move like Kumar can. Whether it's outswinger, the inswinger, the cutters. He can bowl the yorkers and the bouncers. Not often but when he wants to unsettle a batsman, he'll bowl a bouncer. I don't know of a more skillful bowler. At that pace around the world. When you think he's coming back from an injury, a remarkable comeback for Bhuvneshwar Kumar."
Kumar played all the five T20Is in the series against England, and even though he took only four wickets, he was the most economical bowler in the series (6.39).
"Give me someone bowling 90-odd miles an hour any day of the week. I'll face them with my eyes shut because I just like the pace. But with someone like Bhuvneshwar, you have to think so much. Everything has to be spot on in your timing," Vaughan further said.
"Because you know he'll be probing that front-foot, moving that ball either way. He can out skill you. He can bowl the balls that you necessarily can't prepare for. When you're facing real quick bowling, it's just your instincts taking over; you can just react and play. When you are facing someone like Bhuvneshwar, you really have to think hard as a batsman."
India won the five-match T20I series 3-2 and are currently leading the three-match ODI series 1-0. Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his impressive form in the 1st ODI, ending with figures of 2/30 in nine overs.
