R Ashwin Wants Bhuvneshwar Kumar in India's 2027 ODI World Cup Squad

R Ashwin wants Bhuvneshwar Kumar in India's 2027 World Cup squad, saying the veteran seamer's swing bowling could be crucial in South African conditions.

IMAGE: Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished as the second-highest wicket taker in IPL 2026 with 28 wickets in 16 matches. Photograph: BCCI

Spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin has backed veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a surprise return to India's squad for the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup, saying the experienced pacer could be invaluable in South African conditions.

The 2027 World Cup will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, with the majority of matches set to be played in South Africa -- conditions where swing and seam are expected to play a decisive role.

Bhuvneshwar, 36, has been out of the national reckoning since his last appearance for India in 2022, with recurring injuries forcing him down the pecking order. But Ashwin believes the swing specialist still has plenty to offer if he is carefully managed over the next year.

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo's YouTube channel, Ashwin made a strong case for the veteran's return.

'Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a yes. I would communicate to him. Get him to play all the tournaments, first-class, Vijay Hazare, everything, and get him primed going to South Africa. I think we will need him there.'

If selected, Bhuvneshwar would be 37 during the World Cup and the most experienced fast bowler in India's pace attack.

Bhuvi Got a Fifer in South Africa

While Bhuvi's overall record in South Africa is modest -- 19 wickets from 13 international matches at an average of 35.26, including best figures of 5/24 -- Ashwin believes his ability to move the new ball could prove crucial on pitches that traditionally assist seamers.

Bhuvneshwar has also forced his way back into the conversation with an outstanding IPL campaign for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The right-arm seamer rediscovered the skills that once made him India's premier white-ball swing bowler, producing incisive opening spells, accurate yorkers at the death and disciplined Test-match lengths throughout IPL 2026.

He finished as the tournament's second-highest wicket-taker with 28 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 17.89 while maintaining an economy rate of 7.95 -- performances that have reignited debate over an international comeback.

Across 121 One-Day Internationals, Bhuvneshwar has claimed 141 wickets at an average of 35.11, with best figures of 5/42. Overall, he has taken 294 wickets in 229 international matches.

Ashwin bats for Ro-Ko, Kuldeep, Hardik in WC squad

Ashwin also outlined the core of the squad he would like to see travel to the 2027 World Cup.

He retained senior stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli alongside Captain Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, K L Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah.

He backed Kuldeep Yadav as India's lead spinner while Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj would spearhead the pace attack, with Bhuvneshwar completing the seam trio.

Ashwin also gave the nod to two younger players -- Harshit Rana, citing his height, pace and ability to extract bounce in South African conditions, and wicket-keeper-batter Ishan Kishan.

However, he remained undecided on Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna.

Among those he ruled out were Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Abhishek Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar.