The last of Bhuvneshwar? Ashwin claims India selection doors may be closed: 'He didn’t prove his form'

Former Indian cricketer R Ashwin feels the doors may have closed on Bhuvneshwar Kumar's return to the Indian side after an underwhelming outing in the T20I series against New Zealand.

Bhuvneshwar was announced as part of India's T20I squad for the away series against New Zealand. His performances in the past two IPL seasons warranted an India comeback, but fans were left disappointed with his output in the series.

'Chapter closed' for Bhuvi?

In one of the videos on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that Bhuvneshwar failed to justify his selection in the T20I series against New Zealand, and his performances were well below the standards he displayed in the IPL.

The former spinner added that there was a noticeable drop in Bhuvneshwar's intensity, bowling speed and run-up pace, suggesting he was not in peak physical condition.

"Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t bowled that well; he didn’t prove his form. There was a night and day difference between his IPL form and here (New Zealand series). I think that chapter is maybe closed. It’s very difficult. How will he come back?

"Leave performance, leave giving extra runs. It’s not that. What was disappointing, I felt the way he bowls in the IPL – the intensity, his run-up speed was lower, and his bowling speed was also lower. That tells me maybe he didn’t come in prime training form for this series,” Ashwin said.

Will Shami get the chance?

The Bhuvneshwar magic fell flat during the five-match T20I series in New Zealand, in which he picked just one wicket across 4 matches, while conceding 180 runs in 16 overs at a bowling average of 180.00 and an economy rate of 11.25.

With Bhuvneshwar failing to deliver and India still lacking a premium for the 50-over format, whether Mohammed Shami would be provided the chance is yet to be seen.