Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bond with RCB is longer than most imagine. In 2009, he made a one-off appearance in an RCB kit for a Champions League T20 game, also marking his T20 debut. From that match, only two others survived to play this IPL: Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey.
It’s commendable for a seamer to ensure such longevity. Through his topsy-turvy career, Bhuvneshwar’s physique has largely looked similar to the wiry figure that broke out in the early 2010s. But it’s not about appearances. Today, Bhuvneshwar’s fat percentage is at 13-14 per cent. Three years ago, that number stood at nearly 20 percent.
At that point, his international career had stuttered to a stop. He had already endured back, ankle and knee injuries of serious nature. At 33, competing against the next set of white-ball fast bowlers would have been a far-off thought.
But here he is in IPL 2026 with 28 wickets, the most by an Indian bowler. A couple more, and he would have added to his double Purple Cap from 2016 & 2017.
Bhuvneshwar’s remarkable return to his gold standard has not been a single magic fix, but a story of grind and repeatability, much like his unerring bowling. He doesn’t credit motivation of any kind for it. In fact, he calls it “over-rated”. “You read some quote or watch a video and get motivated for a few days,” he recently said. “That fades away quickly. Discipline keeps me going. My physios help me remain in shape”.
In the last three years, Bhuvneshwar has put in session after session each day to target two goals: lower fat percentage, increase strength.
When he dismissed Sai Sudharsan in the final, sending down a sharp bumper that grew big on him, Bhuvi nearly touched 139 kph. He was marginally quicker when he cannoned one into the stumps of the other GT opener, Shubman Gill, just a week back. It had been over two months into the tournament, but Bhuvneshwar still had the legs to range close to 140.
Surya Yadav, Bhuvneshwar’s personal trainer, tells Cricbuzz how he’s sustained pace across this season.
“His run-up had slowed down last-to-last season,” Surya says. “We had to work on that. Injuries were one reason for it. Now, his strength has improved, his power, his jumps, his plyometrics, his throws – all have improved”.
The injuries Surya mentions – back, knee and ankle issues at various points – have all had cascading effects on his body. It could have had a devastating effect three years ago, when his main weapon, backspin, started to wane. It was caused by an inadvertent change of action.
“The body automatically modifies the action so that the load on the back doesn’t increase. He had had issues of the back. He was bowling with a more open-chested action, because his leg and hip were opening up a lot. Now, we have worked a whole year on closing his leg.
“His main weapon: his backspin, will only work if he can put force on the ball. Along with backspin, you can see his swing this season as well”.
Another feature of Bhuvneshwar’s excellence this IPL has been wobble seam, a skill not inherently associated with him. Known more for traditional inswingers or outswingers, Bhuvneshwar’s deliveries have been coming out in a straighter, smaller channel, seaming either way to confound batters, something that even Sachin Tendulkar pointed out during the final.
The ability to keep mastering his expertise, and adding newer traits, would not have been possible had injuries continued to chip away at him. As age advances, even the finest athletes need their body to comply with them.
Albeit reluctantly, he realised three years ago that lifting had to become a vital part of his training.
Bhuvneshwar with Surya Yadav ©Cricbuzz
“The fat percentage has lowered, but that doesn’t mean his body weight has dropped. The weight is still around 73-74 kg,” says Surya, on the addition of muscle and the shift to anaerobic exercise. “Because of that, he didn’t get injured: we’ve lost fat, we’ve become lean. We worked hard on all his previous injuries”.
That Bhuvneshwar doesn’t play international cricket anymore has been a blessing in disguise for his body. He has had time to work on it five-six times a week, going as far up as five-six hours at his training centre for a range of activities.
“We don’t leave (out) anything, not even plyos (plyometrics).” says Surya. “In the off-season, we can build from scratch. We know the next tournament is two months away. When he comes in, we know his body weight is, his muscle loss, if he’s changed anything, if there’s a new niggle or not. A workout plan is built accordingly.”
“We have a personal thrower,” he adds, “an indoor nets with a whole setup. When a season is about to start, he begins by bowling indoors, for about two hours at once. It’s not like he directly enters the match.
“When someone’s playing very regularly, you can’t do much weight training. You can only maintain what you are on, because there is a concern around soreness and overloading of pain”.
When Surya got more time with him, he pressed hard to change Bhuvneshwar’s mindset towards heavier weights: “You will have to lift without fail,” Surya told him. “And you will have to increase the load every time. Unless you increase the load on the body, you can’t improve. We can’t just do 10-10 kgs”.
Bhuvneshwar was apprehensive at first, concerned about lifting too heavy. Surya decided to pair up with him: being training partners would goad Bhuvneshwar into working just as hard and take away any boredom.
Watching Surya train alongside, Bhuvneshwar was motivated to lift the same weights, working on a full range of motion.
“Earlier, Bhuvneshwar would do squats of 10-10 kg each on the barbell, 40 kg total. Now when I am busy even, he himself does squats of 110-120 kg. That change has come. His strength has doubled.”
“He used to do pump-lifting, clean snatches. He would do them at 40 kg. In the off-season, he last left it at 70 kg. Right before the tournament, I lowered it a little”.
Even at RCB, Bhuvneshwar continues most of the same workouts, joining forces with Shanker Basu, their S&C Head, alongside whom he had already worked in the Indian team.
“He makes him do Olympic lifts, and he loves doing that,” says Surya.
The increased power has had a direct impact on Bhuvneshwar’s endurance and prevented any injury recurrences. Since 2022, he has played a full season every single time, taking nearly 40% of his career IPL wickets.
It’s not just his bowling that’s benefited from it. Bhuvneshwar might not have had to bat in any of the last five games, but his first-ball six against Mumbai Indians, a crucial hit over extra cover, will be remembered in times to come.
Bhuvneshwar struck a match-winning six in a crucial game against MI ©AFP
Surya recalls how Bhuvneshwar came to him once and said he was opening up too early while batting and wasn’t getting any power behind his shots. “I have to fix it,” he insisted.
“He literally bats for 1-1.5 hours every day,” Surya says. “No one knows that. We don’t put it (up) anywhere, we don’t show it to anyone”.
“I see a lot of people commenting: how much cricket is he even playing? But no one knows how much he trains, because he is not active on social media. It’s not his nature. But we know the ground reality. He gives 5-7 hours to cricket daily.”
To best describe his dedication, Surya narrates an incident from the last Uttar Pradesh T20 League, when a viral fever had engulfed his team. He recalls how 10-12 players had fallen sick. At one point, Bhuvneshwar was put on drips (intravenous fluids) at the ground itself.
“I also had a viral, I couldn’t even get up,” recalls Surya. “But he was ready to play the next day. I asked him: ‘What’s the need for this? What is going to happen from this one game?'”
He just said: “I love cricket. I love bowling. That’s why I play”.
Bhuvneshwar’s regimen seamlessly seeps into his diet too: eating healthy, foregoing sweets, consuming twice the body weight in protein. “He eats protein bars, protein shakes, and chillas at home. Only if he needs more, does he pivot to eggs. But the main focus is ensuring (appropriate) protein intake”.
“He’s got more dedication than anyone around. He takes out time for every aspect: bowling, batting, fielding, rehab. Just because he doesn’t show it to anyone, people think he doesn’t do all of it”.
Fifteen years ago, in the month of May, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged his first IPL wicket, debuting for India the following year. That wicket kickstarted a long journey to becoming IPL’s most successful quick ever. It’s another May, and Bhuvi looks as good as ever, a third IPL title now in tow. Whispers of an India call-up are swirling once again.
But the ageless wonder is probably already back in the gym, ready for another session, another day, another week for the sport he loves.
