Best things happen in unexpected moments – Bhuvneshwar Kumar on his contributions to RCB’s title-winning seasons

Being an elite bowler for more than a decade comes with its fair shares of pros and cons. One of the significant aspects of being an elite for all these days, however, is the pressure that comes along with it. Now dealing with that intense pressure either makes you one of the most resilient beings ever or it can simply break you.

And that is exactly why Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s credentials gets all the more fascinating. The man who has been at the top of his game for all these years, the man who set the stage ablaze in IPL 2026 with his best-ever figures in a season, Kumar’s residence at the top, amongst the ones who are making the dash for being immortals in the antiquity of the game, simply dazzles the others.

Talking in Big Basket presents RCB Podcast, Bhuvneshwar Kumar opened up on how he deals with the pressure and what are the minute things that he tends to do in order to deal with the intense pump at the peak.

Bhuvi said, “I also never thought that something like this would happen (winning the IPL with SRH in 2016 by defeating RCB in the final and then winning the IPL with RCB in 2025 and 2026). But I think that best things happen in the unexpected moments and that is exactly what is happening. However, honestly, at home, the kind of hard work that I was doing, the kind of shift that I was putting in the training, I never did that thinking that I wanted to get back at the peak or achieve something individually.”

He further added, “But I kept on doing it. Generally, what we talk about the love for the game, is actually happening to me now. When you are young, you think a lot about yourself, that I want to achieve things like Player of the Tournament, Purple Cap in whatever tournament you play. But slowly when you gain experience, you mature, then things change. I think that’s what changed with me. I started enjoying the game rather than winning the individual awards.”

He also shed some light on the ever-evolving trends of the IPL. Bhuvi opened up on how adaptability to the growing changes is absolutely essential to survive in the long tournament. He explained how he modifies himself according to the needs of a particular season to stay afloat in the gruelling race for survival.

Bhuvi said, “In IPL the trend changes every year when it comes to bowling. And the trend that went on in 2026, maybe because of a few helpful wickets, like in Chinnaswamy, the ball swings at the start and luckily in the away games that we have played, we have got some initial help from the wickets. Of course, Hoff (Josh Hazlewood) is there. So, when you get some help from the surfaces, the Test bowler in us comes out. We can bowl as much as every ball on that particular line and length and when you get wicket from that discipline, obviously it makes you happy.”

He further added, “But I also believe that experience is also there to quickly read the wicket, assess it, set fielding according to the situation. However, I believe that credit goes to the management as well. Generally, when you have experienced bowlers, being the management, you can leave a few things on them. But I think here, it’s not the same. When we go to the bowling meeting or batting meeting, the management is more prepared than us. They give us things which we don’t think about normally.”

Citing an example of the things that management comes up with, Kumar stated, “If we are playing in Raipur, everything about the venue from the bounce to every detail, that helps you to plan sometimes. Obviously, the details have been ascertained from the past but the trend on the ground usually remains. So as soon as we figure out that this is how the surface would be reacting, we can pick our plans accordingly.”