New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said experienced Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will enjoy bowling in New Zealand conditions in the upcoming five-match T20I series against the Kiwis.
Kumar was added to the squad after an impressive run in IPL 2026 for RCB. The veteran seamer bagged 28 wickets in 16 matches of IPL 2026 and played an instrumental role in taking Royal Challengers Bengaluru to glory. The swing master has performed consistently in the recent past and also scalped 14 wickets in 11 matches while leading Lucknow Falcons in UP T20 League 2026.
“I think Bhuvi will love these conditions in New Zealand. If there’s anything in the wicket, he’ll find something out of it. [Even] on some flat ones in India, still manages to nip the ball and swing the ball. So with the new ball out here especially, he’ll be a challenge. I mean in India it’s pretty challenging as a bowler these days, like we’ve seen in the recent series [against West Indies], 250 getting chased down – who wants to be a bowler? – but he might like it out here a little better,” said Santner as quoted by Cricinfo.
On the other hand, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer said Bhuvneshwar Kumar will bring a lot of experience to the squad, which they have been lacking in the recent past.
“Bhuvi, like you said, brings a lot of experience in the team. That was something we lacked, especially after the IPL we had a lot of new bowlers. If you see Bhuvi’s career graph in the last two years, he’s won the IPL also so he knows very well how to dominate this format,” said Iyer in the pre-match press conference.
The first T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Thursday.
