Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be given a chance in T20Is. He added that the 36-year-old couldn’t have performed any better in IPL 2026. With 28 wickets at an economy rate of 7.95 in 16 innings, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2026. His performances helped RCB defend their IPL title.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “If you think emotionally, you feel he should be played because if performance is the criterion, what more can anyone do? You should get a chance for sure, but then the question arises whether it will be short-term planning or if you are thinking long-term. White-ball cricket runs in cycles. In T20s, as soon as the World Cup gets over, you start seeing changes within the next six months that prepare you for 2028.”

“Give Bhuvneshwar Kumar a few chances at least because he is a fast bowler. If he had been a batter, I would have said leave it, as many of them are there. Since India will play so much T20 cricket, play him. Never know, he gives you a World Cup. Two years is a lot. He is not getting younger. He is already 36 years old. Maybe it’s a little too tough for a fast bowler to last that long, but maybe he can get a chance in T20 cricket,” he shared again.

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However, Aakash Chopra was also asked whether he sees Vaibhav Suryavanshi playing in the T20I series against Ireland after his stunning performances in IPL 2026. He added that the Indian selectors have only two options to add Suryavanshi, with leaving out Sanju Samson being one of them.

“I am also saying that he is ready, but no one has the answer to the question of how he should be selected. You have only two options. One is that you tell Sanju Samson you aren’t selecting him, that he has won two consecutive World Cups, scored runs in the virtual quarterfinal, the semi-final, and the final, and became the Player of the Tournament, but now you are being removed because we have got something new,” he said.

“Otherwise, you can say Abhishek Sharma had a middling sort of season, and although he might still be the No. 1-ranked T20I batter and scored runs in the World Cup final, now we are done, and we are going in a different direction. It’s not that simple. It’s not that easy because the justification won’t happen,” he concluded.