Bhuvneshwar Kumar becomes costliest ever player in UPT20 history, set to play for Lucknow Falcons

After the successful first edition of the UPT20 League, the auctions for the second season were held on Sunday. Out of favour Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was one of the top players to make himself part of the auctions for the second season. 

The 34-year-old will be playing for Lucknow Falcons in the second season. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was brought for INR 30.25 Lakhs by the Lucknow-based team. This was the costliest ever bid for a player in the history of the league. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar goes to @LucknowFalcons for a whopping 30.25L #UPT20Season2

— Shivani Singh (@Shivani_Singh02) July 28, 2024

Kashi Rudras won the first season, captained by Karan Sharma as they defeated Meerut Mavericks in the final captained by Rinku Singh. The second season is set to be held from August to September with six teams competing in the tournament. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar fetches huge bucks 

Lucknow Falcons has made a massive investment in veteran India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The 34-year-old was brought for a whopping INR 30.25 Lakhs by the Lucknow side. It is a huge outlay of cash for one of the most experienced bowlers, considered one of the best white-ball bowlers in India. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar last played for India in the 50-over and T20I formats in 2022. The right-arm pacer played his last Test for India in early 2018 during the tour of South Africa at Johannesburg. 

Ever since he made his T20I debut for India in 2012, Kumar was India’s main choice with the new ball in a career spanning a decade. The 34-year-old has so far played 87 matches for India and picked 90 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in this format of the game behind Yuzvendra Chahal who has 96 wickets. 

The lanky pacer has also picked two fifers in the T20 format with his first coming against South Africa in 2018. The second fifer came against Afghanistan during the 2022 Asia Cup tournament, played in the T20 format. 

IPL 2024 saw Bhuvneshwar Kumar come up with mixed results for the Sunrisers Hyderabad side that played in the finals. From the 16 games he played, he could end up with just 11 wickets with an economy rate of 9.35. In the IPL, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has played 176 matches and picked 181 wickets and is the 4th best wicket taker with two fifers and an economy rate of 7.56 runs per over.