Sunrisers Hyderabads (SRH) bowling mainstay Bhuvneshwar Kumar has succumbed to injury once again, the latest injury ruling him out of this years IPL.
The India fast bowler, who has been Sunrisers’ trump card in the death overs and has rarely missed a game for his IPL franchise, had to limp off the field in the last match against Chennai Super Kings after pulling up while bowling his last over.
“Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ruled out of #Dream11IPL 2020 due to injury. Prithvi Raj Yarra will replace Bhuvi for the remainder of the season,” tweeted SRH from their official handle.
Bhuvi, as he is fondly known among teammates and fans, has suffered a spate of injuries recently and that has put a question mark on the future of his career. One of the best exponents with a new ball, the right-arm bowler has added skills in death bowling at Sunrisers Hyderabad which has made him valuable in limited overs cricket.
During the 2018 IPL, he had to sit out of five matches because of back trouble and then missed a few games on the limited-overs tour of England before being forced to return home midway through the Test series.
At the 2019 Cricket World Cup, he suffered a hamstring strain during the India-Pakistan match and had to pull out. He then missed a few games. Despite that, he was India’s second most successful bowler in ODIs behind Mohammed Shami.
Later that year, his sports hernia went undetected following tests at a private lab recommended by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Bhuvi was quite confident of recovering and leading India at the now-shelved World T20.
At this IPL, he was playing any form of cricket for the first time in nine months and had done well in three of the four matches.