IND vs SA: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Record In South Africa Makes For Grim Reading

India were comprehensively beaten by South Africa in the second ODI at Boland Park in Paarl on Friday, with the hosts taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Many Indian players have been far from their best, none more so than pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who endured yet another frustrating outing on South African soil. Bhuvneshwar is yet to pick up a wicket in the ongoing series, having bowled a total of 18 overs in the two matches and giving away 131 runs at an economy rate of 7.27.

In fact, in his last 5 ODIs in South Africa, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has failed to pick a wicket in the 36 overs he has bowled, conceding 272 runs at an economy rate of 6.72. Bhuvneshwar’s bowling average is 200 in South Africa, which is the third worst by an Indian bowler in any country with minimum 50 overs in ODIs.

S Venkataraghavan tops that list, having averaged 275 in England, followed by Robin Singh, who averages 207 in the UAE. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is next. He has played eight ODIs in South Africa and in the 60 overs he has bowled, the right-arm pacer has been plundered for 400 runs and taken just two wickets in total.

Since the 2019 World Cup, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has just three powerplay wickets from 41 overs. On Friday, Bhuvneshwar bowled the second over of the South African innings and was plundered for 16 runs with Quinton de Kock taking him to the cleaners.

He was immediately taken out of the attack by stand-in skipper KL Rahul and only returned to bowl in the 12th over. He bowled a total of eight overs in the match, going for 67 runs at an economy rate of 8.37.

With the series already lost, India could bring in Prasidh Krishna or Deepak Chahar in place of Bhuvneshwar for the third and final ODI scheduled for Sunday in Cape Town.