Siddarth Kaul: Why is Bhuvneshwar Kumar not playing today’s IPL 2020 match vs Mumbai Indians?

Bhuvneshwar Kumar not playing: The tried and tested pacer is missing today’s match due to an injury suffered in the previous match.

During the 17th match of the ongoing 13th season of the Indian Premier League between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and chose to bat to take optimum advantage of the batting deck at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

“We will bat first. It has been our strength so we are going to back that. It is a good pitch and as long as you play good cricket, the toss doesn’t really matter. Yes, but to be honest the game against KKR was also a perfect game. We put runs on the board and defended really well. We have a quality bowling line up which is why we back ourselves to come out and puts runs on the board.

“We have seen few games here, you have to believe and trust your instincts when you play in grounds like these. We know it is a small ground but it also gives the bowlers an opportunity knowing that the batsmen are going to come after them. We are playing the same team,” Sharma said during the toss.

Why is Bhuvneshwar Kumar not playing today’s IPL 2020 match vs Mumbai Indians?

Speaking during the toss, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner also expressed the urge to bat first. Given how bowlers have leaked runs at the venue, Warner would be expecting a lot out of his bowlers today.

“Definitely, would have batted as well. Exactly the same what Rohit was saying there the way our team shapes up we are confident in our bowlers to defend. We have seen some high totals here but it also gives a chance to the bowlers to pinch a couple of wickets,” Warner said.

A primary reason why SRH’s bowlers will have to do well today is the absence of senior pacer in Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Other than Bhuvneshwar, Khaleel Ahmed has also been benched for this match.

It is worth mentioning that Hyderabad have included the Punjab duo of Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma for this match. While Kaul will be playing his first IPL 2020 match, Sharma has played a match in this tournament.

“I think Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] is a big loss for us. It is about making sure the bowlers are communicating and bowling in partnerships again. We have to do that well here today,” Warner said.

What happened to Bhuvneshwar Kumar?

Bhuvneshwar, 30, had suffered an injury while bowling in the previous match against Chennai Super Kings. Bowling a crucial penultimate over, Bhuvneshwar couldn’t even complete the over due to constant discomfort.

In four IPL 2020 matches, the right-arm pacer had dismissed three wickets at an average of 33, an economy rate of 6.98 and a strike rate of 28.33.