Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Friday triggered speculations surrounding his future after the India seamer removed made a slight tweak in his Instagram bio. Bhuvneshwar, 33, last played for India in November of last year – in a T20I in New Zealand before being dropped for the home series against the BlackCaps and Sri Lanka. He failed to feature in the Indian squad for the three ODIs against Australia and even though Bhuvneshwar turned up for all 14 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, the India quick has not been seen since.

Unlike earlier, Bhuvneshwar hasn't been reported injured either, which makes his absence all the more puzzling. Since the IPL 2023, he hasn't played any competitive cricket, even staying away from domestic cricket. On Friday, hawkish users on Twitter noticed how Bhuvneshwar dropped the word 'Cricketer' from his description. Earlier going by 'Indian cricketer', Bhuvi's current profile reads 'Indian', leading many to wonder whether the king of swing has played his last match for India.

Having said that, Bhuvneshwar's recent picture with Rinku Singh last week, provides a whole new twist to the story. A photo of the two Indian cricketers were clicked together in front of the tri-colour inside a training room. What also bodes well for Bhuvi fans that his Twitter bio hasn't changed. It still goes by the description 'Indian cricketer'.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2022

Unless a niggle or any other injury, Bhuvneshwar getting dropped from the team remains mystery, more so after his performance in 2022. He was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 scalps and the only bowler to grab a five-wicket-haul, including a career-best of 5/4. He had an off-colour campaign for India at the T20 World Cup but finished the year as India's most successful bowler with 37 T20I wickets. Bhuvneshwar already does not play Tests, and has been sidelined from ODIs – last playing a game in January of 2022, but at 33 is far from done in T20Is.

In a 10-year-long career, Bhuvneshwar stands as the second most successful bowler for India in T20Is with 90 wickets from 87 matches, next to Yuzvendra Chahal, who leads the pack with 91. He has bowled the most maidens for India – 10 – and is the only Indian bowler to have picked a five-wicket-haul in T20Is twice. He has also bowled the most overs for India in T20Is – 298 – and boasts a pretty decent average of 23.10.