Former Indian left-arm spinner Murali Kartik on Monday welcomed Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recall to the national T20I side, saying age should never be a barrier to selection as long as a player is good enough and not a liability on the field.
Bhuvneshwar initially earned a recall for India’s five-match T20I series in New Zealand starting on October 22. Bhuvneshwar had played a key role in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru achieving consecutive IPL wins in 2025 and 2026. “100 percent. Somebody is 40, and he is good; as long as he can move and he is not a liability on the field, he should be picked. But anyone who is on this side of 30 and making a comeback, it is not going to be easy.
Because he is also on the other side of 30 and he is not known for his exceptional fitness, “You just hope that Varun Chakaravarthy stays fit. Because he has won, so, he is seen as a superb bowler.
On wrist spinner Varun Chakaravarthy’s return, after a side strain led to him being ruled out after the first T20I against Afghanistan in New Delhi last month, Kartik said fitness would be the key. So, I hope that really all goes well for India,” he said. But he was then drafted into the rained-out fifth T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru – first as a cover for Arshdeep Singh, before replacing Mayank Yadav in the playing eleven. I am so happy that he has made his comeback. I have never been a huge believer (in age being a criterion for selection). If somebody is good, he should be picked. I have got no issues with that. I have never had. “I don’t know if you want to use the word litmus. The spotlight is always going to be on you. If you do well, people will say, he has continued his form. If he doesn’t do well, then people are going to say, we always knew he was on this side. “All those things are part of it. From a Bhuvneshwar Kumar point of view, I don’t think he is going to be looking at it that way. It is a new lease of life. Anybody who comes to play this game wants to play it for the right reason, and that is to play for the country at any stage at any age. So I am pretty sure that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is taking it that way. So, he is basically a one-dimensional cricketer who has done exceedingly well with what he has got. That is exactly what Varun Chakravarthy is. “That is an argument which you can use for other people as well. Someone like Kuldeep Yadav. How is it that Varun Chakaravarthy is solely a bowler? He is not a gazelle on the field, nor is he a Shai Hope with the bat. How is it that the same yardsticks are not used for someone else?
I have always maintained this belief in my life,” Kartik told reporters in a select virtual interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network on Monday.
