IPL 2026: Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ‘on fire’ this season, says RCB pacer Hazlewood

Dharamshala, May 26 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Josh Hazlewood showered praise on his new-ball partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar ahead of Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the HPCA stadium, calling the veteran seamer one of the biggest reasons behind RCB’s strong bowling performances this season.

Speaking before the crucial clash, Hazlewood highlighted the advantage of bowling alongside Bhuvneshwar, whose ability to strike early has consistently put opposition teams under pressure. “It’s pretty handy. You’re bowling the second over at probably number three and four batters sometimes. So you don’t even need to do your homework on the opener sometimes,” Hazlewood told the broadcasters ahead of the match.

The Australian quick also praised Bhuvneshwar’s remarkable consistency this season, especially his control with the new ball. “Bhuvi has been in fantastic form. I still think he’s leading the wickets, maybe, and his economy is unbelievable. So he’s been on fire,” he added.

Bhuvneshwar is having an outstanding IPL 2026 campaign, leading the race for the Purple Cap as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 24 wickets in 14 matches. Playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he has become the cornerstone of their bowling attack, proving age is just a number with an average of 16.38 and a good economy of 7.70.

Hazlewood also stressed the importance of creating pressure against the Gujarat Titans’ top-heavy batting line-up, which has relied heavily on its leading batters throughout the season. “Obviously, they rely pretty heavily on the top three. They’ve done most of their work at the top of the order throughout the whole tournament,” Hazlewood said.

“They’re class players. If you bowl poorly, they hurt you big time. But if you can string a couple of dots together, create pressure and get a couple of early wickets, that’s key,” he added.

The Australian fast bowler admitted the hectic IPL schedule leaves little room for extensive training sessions, especially for pacers, and said team discussions have become more important during the tournament.

“Training, as you know, in these tournaments, you can train when you can, really. There’s so much travel and recovery after games. There’s a game every couple of days, so it is tough to train sometimes, especially as a quick,” he said. “It’s probably been more the messaging and just getting the boys together from time to time and talking about what’s to come,” he added.

–IANS

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