New Delhi: Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Saturday rubbished reports of his losing drive to play Test cricket and asserted that he has always prepared himself for all the three formats of cricket.
Taking to Twitter, the cricketer posted a strongly-worded response to the newspaper reports which claimed that Bhubneshwar Kumar has ‘lost drive’ for Test cricket.
For the upcoming England tour, a 24-member contingent of Team India has been selected but Bhubneshwar Kumar was left out from the squad. In the 20-member squad selected for the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the five-match Test series against England, Bhuvneshwar did not find a place in the squad.
Bhubaneshwar tears down reports
Taking strong exception to media reports, Bhubaneshwar Kumar refuted reports of his not wanting to play Test
cricket.
He also went on to say, “please don’t write your assumptions based on “sources”, taking a clear dig at media reports for ‘fallacious report’.
“There have been articles about me not wanting to play Test cricket. Just to clarify, I have always prepared myself for all three formats irrespective of the team selection and will continue to do the same. Suggestion – please don’t write your assumptions based on “sources”!
There have been articles about me not wanting to play Test cricket. Just to clarify, I have always prepared myself for all three formats irrespective of the team selection and will continue to do the same.
Suggestion – please don’t write your assumptions based on “sources”!— Bhuvneshwar Kumar (@BhuviOfficial) May 15, 2021
What the report said about him not wanting to play Test cricket
A report in The Times of India on Saturday quoted sources saying that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not been selected in the Indian team for the tour of England because he does not want to play Tests.
The report said: “Bhuvneshwar just doesn’t want to play Test cricket anymore. That drive has gone missing… To be honest, the selectors don’t even see Bhuvi hungry for 10 overs, forget Test cricket. It’s Team India’s loss no doubt, because if one bowler should have made it to England, it should have been him.”
Indian Squad for England Tour:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).