Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s move back to his old franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 turned out to be a great decision for the veteran.
After a gap of 15 years since playing for the franchise, Bhuvneshwar became one of the key members of their pace attack as they clinched the IPL title for the first time in history.
For Bhuvneshwar, it was his second title after guiding Sunrisers Hyderabad to their maiden title in 2016. Across the 10 seasons for SRH, the Uttar Pradesh man achieved a lot of things, most notably becoming the first bowler to win the Purple Cap in back-to-back seasons.
RCB’s bowling unit pulled off great victories from the jaws of defeat on multiple occasions, but Bhuvneshwar was among the few weak links in those matches.
Bhuveshwar Kumar’s performances for RCB in IPL 2025
He claimed 17 wickets from 13 matches, but averaged 28. For a bowler who built his reputation as one of the most frugal, Bhuvneshwar had an economy of 9. It has been a trend of dwindling returns from the senior bowler in the last two campaigns for SRH as well where he had a combined average of 38 with an economy close to 9.
He took a heavy beating the clashes against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals as RCB had call in the services of Josh Hazlewood and the spinners to put on a rescue act.
The defending champions of IPL 2026, in a bid to bring competition for places within the squad, might let Bhuvneshwar go for the IPL 2026 auction in search of younger talents.
Here are three teams who could bid for Bhuvneshwar in the 2026 auction.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The three-time champions suffered a big deal due to their pace department in the 2025 season as the likes of Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana and Andre Russell struggled while the likes of Spencer Johnson and Chetan Sakariya played bit-part roles due to their limited chances.
Delhi Capitals
When they were good, DC pacers were really good. But when they faltered, they looked lost. These moments came in crucial matches where they needed to put their team in the playoffs contention. DC need a fast bowler with a cool head on their shoulders and Bhuvneshwar brings that to the table. Also Mitchell Starc’s mounting injury issues as well as prioritising international commitments might see him back in the auction pool which opens the door for a seasoned veteran like Bhuvneshwar.
Chennai Super Kings
The likes of Khaleel Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana have suffered due to an uninspired team performance in IPL 2025, but they might just be prompted to off-load an underperforming Mukesh Choudhary and Nathan Ellis to make space for the core group of players. Bringing in Bhuvneshwar will not only continue CSK’s continued trust in experienced campaigners but also help them with early wickets and tight spells at the death.
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