LIFELESS AT THE DEATH

Bhuvneshwar's Lacklustre Bowling In The End Overs Are Disrupting India's T20 WC Plans

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On August 28, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 4-26 to play a key role in India's five-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Dubai, few thought that with just a month left before their 2022 T20 World Cup opener against the same opponents, India's sole T20 specialist' bowler would become a source of worry.

In three out of India's last four matches, Bhuvneshwar has been taken to the cleaners in the penultimate over.

Everything that he has tried -yorker, wide yorker, slower ball, knuckle ball or a bouncer-has failed. For someone who was written off after wicketless out ings against Pakistan and New Zealand in the last T20 World Cup in the UAE, the veteran seamer has done well to be among the wickets in the last one year. But India skipper Rohit Sharma will be nervous seeing his trusted bowler go off the boil at an inopportune time.