Bhuvneshwar Kumar: I am not playing just to make comeback, I want to enjoy my cricket

It is a strange moment in Indian cricket. The national team is evidently struggling while a big tournament that will begin next month in the country – ODI World Cup – has faced unprecedented roadblocks.

Amid the cacophony, the national team’s wait for a major ICC trophy stretched into its 10th year after failure in their previous attempt at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

Following defeat to England in the semi-final in Adelaide, one player found himself sidelined fairly soon, after a decade in international cricket.

Seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has quietly slipped off the radar, with Jasprit Bumrah back leading the pace attack.

Kumar is currently playing in the inaugural edition of the Uttar Pradesh T20 League, a local T20 franchise tournament in his state. At 33, the right-arm seamer knows time is not on his side. But that is not on his mind right now. He just wants to play competitively.

“When you are at a stage when you know you are going to play only for a few more years – being a fast bowler – it hits you and you want to enjoy cricket. I am at that stage now,” Kumar told The National.

“Yes I am not part of the Indian team, but this does not bother me. It’s not that I am trying something different or planning anything new to come back. I am just focusing on playing cricket.”

One of the performances that stood out for the wrong reasons recently was the match against England at the T20 World Cup where the eventual champions chased down 169 in just 16 overs. All the Indian bowlers went wicketless that day but, while others remain part of the mix, Kumar is not.

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A comeback is always at the back of the mind of a player who finds himself out of a team he was an almost