IPL playerIndia2011 to 2026
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
On scorecards: B Kumar · Right-hand bat
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a bowler, has played sixteen IPL seasons for three franchises, and has taken 226 wickets, the 2nd-most in IPL history. Three titles came along the way.
The arrival
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's first IPL season was 2011, with Pune Warriors, a signing made outside the auction.
That first season brought 4 matches, 1 run and 3 wickets at 6.00 an over.
The peak
The best season was 2026, for Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 28 wickets at 7.93 runs an over, while the league's bowlers went for 9.73, with best figures of 4 for 23. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the title that year. Seven seasons brought 15 wickets or more (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2023, 2025 and 2026).
Franchise by franchise
2011 to 2013, Pune Warriors. 31 matches and 24 wickets.
2014 to 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad. Bought at the 2014 auction for ₹4.25 cr. 145 matches, 213 runs and 157 wickets; champions in 2016.
2025 to 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Bought at the 2025 auction for ₹10.75 cr. 30 matches and 45 wickets; champions in 2025 and 2026.
3 spells with three franchises in all. The longest was with Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2014 to 2024.
How the wickets came
With the ball, 226 wickets in 4,613 deliveries, at 7.69 runs an over against a league rate of 8.44 for the same seasons: 0.75 an over cheaper than the typical bowler of the time, the mark of a bowler who kept things tight. There were five four-wicket hauls, and the best figures were 5 for 19.
41.2% of the balls Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled were dots, a higher share than 85% of the 150 bowlers with 500 balls or more; a wicket came every 20.4 balls.
The fielding record: 33 catches and 9 run-outs.
At the auction
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gone under the hammer three times. The highest price was ₹10.75 cr, paid by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025, more than 5 times the base price. The price climbed with the reputation: ₹4.25 cr in 2014, ₹10.75 cr by 2025.
Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.
Where it stands
On the all-time IPL lists, among 810 players, Bhuvneshwar Kumar stands 2nd for wickets and 9th for matches played. The story is still being written: 2026 was another season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Season by season
| Season | Team | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50/100 | Wkts | Econ | Best | Ct | POTM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Pune Warriors | 4 | 1 | 1* | – | 100.0 | 0/0 | 3 | 6.00 | 2/14 | 2 | ||
| 2012 | Pune Warriors | 11 | 40 | 11* | 13.3 | 100.0 | 0/0 | 8 | 7.17 | 2/9 | 0 | ||
| 2013 | Pune Warriors | 16 | 52 | 24* | 7.4 | 73.2 | 0/0 | 13 | 6.49 | 3/18 | 2 | ||
| 2014 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 25.0 | 0/0 | 20 | 6.66 | 4/14 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 17 | 11* | 17.0 | 170.0 | 0/0 | 18 | 7.88 | 3/26 | 4 | ||
| 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 17 | 43 | 21 | 7.2 | 159.3 | 0/0 | 23 | 7.41 | 4/29 | 5 | 2 | Champions |
| 2017 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 4 | 4* | 4.0 | 100.0 | 0/0 | 26 | 7.03 | 5/19 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 12 | 13 | 7 | 6.5 | 81.2 | 0/0 | 9 | 7.61 | 3/26 | 2 | ||
| 2019 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 15 | 12 | 7* | 4.0 | 63.2 | 0/0 | 13 | 7.79 | 2/24 | 4 | ||
| 2020 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | – | 0/0 | 3 | 6.91 | 2/25 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 11 | 34 | 14* | 34.0 | 113.3 | 0/0 | 6 | 7.98 | 1/16 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 24 | 8 | 8.0 | 92.3 | 0/0 | 12 | 7.30 | 3/22 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 42 | 27 | 14.0 | 89.4 | 0/0 | 16 | 8.33 | 5/30 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 16 | 23 | 13 | 7.7 | 79.3 | 0/0 | 11 | 9.32 | 3/41 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2025 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 14 | 14 | 8 | 4.7 | 56.0 | 0/0 | 17 | 9.29 | 3/33 | 5 | Champions | |
| 2026 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 16 | 34 | 15* | – | 130.8 | 0/0 | 28 | 7.93 | 4/23 | 1 | 1 | Champions |
Franchise journey
- Pune Warriors: 2011 to 2013
- Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2014 to 2024
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 2025 to 2026
Ball-by-ball detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Dot balls faced | 45.6% |
| Balls per four | 11.1 |
| Balls per six | 94.3 |
| Dot balls bowled | 41.2% |
| Balls per wicket | 20.4 |
| Catches | 33 |
| Run-outs | 9 |
| Stumpings | 0 |
At the auction
| Auction | Set | Base price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | FA1 | ₹1.50 cr | Sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹4.25 cr |
| 2022 | FA1 | ₹2 cr | Sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹4.20 cr |
| 2025 | FA2 | ₹2 cr | Sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for ₹10.75 cr |
Sources
- CricArcade IPL season statistics
- CricArcade IPL auction archive
- Kaggle IPL Complete Match Dataset 2008-2026, ball-by-ball, cross-checked against Cricsheet