Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back: India call him up for the West Indies decider in Bengaluru after Arshdeep Singh hurts his shoulder

Nearly four years after his last T20I, the 36-year-old has been added to India's squad for Saturday's fifth T20I at the Chinnaswamy, his IPL home ground. Arshdeep took a blow to his bowling shoulder in Hyderabad, and the BCCI will decide on his fitness before the game.

IND vs WI 5th T20IBy Parag Sisodia · 16 Oct 2026, 5:21 pm IST · 3 min read

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar added to India's squad for the 5th T20I against West Indies in Bengaluru

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be with the India squad in Bengaluru for Saturday's series decider against West Indies. The BCCI added the 36-year-old to the squad on Friday after Arshdeep Singh took a blow to his bowling shoulder in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad.

It is the first time Bhuvneshwar has been part of an India squad on match day since November 2022. He was already picked for next week's T20Is in New Zealand, his first India call-up in almost four years. Arshdeep's injury has brought that return forward by a week, and it could now come in the biggest game of the series.

What the BCCI said about Arshdeep

Arshdeep was hit on the shoulder by a short ball from Shamar Joseph in the final over of India's chase in Hyderabad. He could not carry on batting and left the field. India lost that game by 24 runs, and the series is level at 2-2.

The BCCI has not ruled him out. In its release on Friday, it said "a decision on his participation for the final T20I will be taken prior to the game based on his recovery". Bhuvneshwar is cover for now, but India are unlikely to risk their main left-arm seamer six days before a tour of New Zealand if there is any doubt about his shoulder.

Arshdeep has played all four games in this series and taken five wickets, including 3 for 44 in the win in Indore. He went for 52 in his four overs in Hyderabad.

India's updated squad for the 5th T20I

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh (subject to fitness), Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Why this is big news

Bhuvneshwar's last T20I for India was against New Zealand in Napier on 22 November 2022. After the 2022 T20 World Cup he was left out, and for most of the next four years the selectors looked at younger seamers instead.

He kept taking wickets anyway. In IPL 2026 he took 28 wickets in 16 matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru at an economy rate of 7.95, the Purple Cap season that persuaded Pragyan Ojha's selection panel to recall him for New Zealand. In 2025 he took 17 wickets as RCB won their first title.

His India record stands up too:

T20Is: 90 wickets in 87 matches, average 23.10, economy 6.96, best 5 for 4
ODIs: 141 wickets in 121 matches
Tests: 63 wickets in 21 matches

Only four Indian bowlers have taken more T20I wickets.

Why he could be the answer in Bengaluru

India's bowling has been the story of this series, for the wrong reasons. West Indies chased 250 in Ranchi and made 247 for 3 in Hyderabad, with Shai Hope scoring an unbeaten 102 in both games. India's young seamers have been fast but expensive.

Bhuvneshwar offers something different. He swings the new ball, he has bowled at the death in big games for more than a decade, and he knows the Chinnaswamy better than anyone in either squad after two seasons there with RCB. On a small ground with a quick outfield, where bowlers get very little help, a seamer who can move the ball early and bowl yorkers late is exactly what India have been missing.

If Arshdeep is ruled out, the straight swap would be Bhuvneshwar for Arshdeep, with Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav keeping their places. India could also stay with the same attack and bring in Kuldeep Yadav or Ravi Bishnoi as an extra spinner. We think Bhuvneshwar plays.