India Squad For New Zealand T20Is Announced; Bhuvneshwar Kumar Returns After 4 Years

India squad for New Zealand T20Is - (Source: AFP)On Tuesday, October 6, the BCCI announced India's squad for upcoming T20Is against New Zealand. The board members and selection committee sat down at BCCI's headquarters and selected a 16-member squad, which marks the return of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.Notably, India will travel to New Zealand for a five-match T20I series, starting on October 22. Shreyas Iyer will lead the side and Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns to the setup after 4 years, following a great IPL season.Bhuvneshwar Kumar Returns After 4 YearsThe biggest talking point in the squad is Bhuvneshwar Kumar's inclusion. The 36-year-old was left out of the team after New Zealand series in 2022. Now, the right-arm seamer is returning for a New Zealand tour.In the past couple of years, Bhuvi has been doing brilliantly in T20s, particularly IPL. RCB have been winning IPL since last two years and Kumar has had a key role in it. Talking about his numbers, Bhuvneshwar has picked up 45 wickets in 30 innings. ALSO READSmriti Mandhana Replaces Harmanpreet Kaur As India's New All-Format CaptainIn 2026, Kumar also picked up 14 wickets in UP T20 league, which forced the selectors to rethink about his return to the Indian team.Jasprit Bumrah Rested, Varun Chakaravarthy ReturnsAnother major talking point from the squad is that Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the upcoming T20Is. The idea could be that the selectors want Jasprit to play ODIs ahead of ODI World Cup, which is why he is not selected for T20Is.Besides Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy has regained full fitness and will return to the T20I team for New Zealand series. For the unversed, Chakaravarthy was ruled out of the ongoing West Indies T20Is and Asian Games because of side strain injury.India Squad For New Zealand T20IsIndia Squad: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson [WK], Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep YadavALSO READAjit Agarkar's Tenure Officially Ends; BCCI Invites Application For Role In Selection Committee