Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been drafted back into India’s squad for the fifth and final T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru on Saturday, October 17.
The encounter ended in a tie via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. The Bengaluru call-up accelerates that return. The series decider is at M. Arshdeep was struck on the shoulder by Shamar Joseph during India’s chase; a final decision on his availability will be taken closer to the match.
With the series locked at 2-2 and left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh nursing a bowling shoulder knock suffered while batting in the fourth T20I, the team management has recalled one of India’s most decorated short-format bowlers to bolster the attack. In that rain-curtailed match, Bhuvneshwar returned figures of 0/35 in 4 overs as the New Zealand posted 160 before India reached 75/4 in 9 overs. Best figures: 5/4 (against Afghanistan in the 2022 Asia Cup) Across the last two IPL seasons he claimed 45 wickets – the most by any bowler in that period – and was effective in both the powerplay and death overs while maintaining relatively tight control in a high-scoring era. He has also continued playing domestic T20 cricket (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and UP T20 League) He had already been named in India’s squad for the five-match T20I series in New Zealand starting 22 October 2026. West Indies levelled the five-match T20I series 2-2 by winning the fourth game in Hyderabad by 24 runs (Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 and Keemo Paul’s five-wicket haul). Chinnaswamy Stadium – RCB’s home ground on October 17.
