New Delhi [India], October 8 : Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal welcomed pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to the Team India setup, crediting his strong Indian Premier League (IPL) performances and ability to generate movement with the ball, which he said makes the pacer effective and capable of taking wickets in T20 cricket.
Bhuvneshwar’s India career had been on hold since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide. Nearly four years later, the 36-year-old has earned a long-awaited recall to the national side for the five T20Is against New Zealand starting from October 22 onwards.
Bhuvneshwar has played 229 matches across formats, claiming 294 wickets at an impressive average of 29.50, including seven five-wicket hauls. 
Bhuvneshwar has had a resurgence with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL, with his 45 wickets in 31 matches at an average of 22.55 and an economy rate of 8.52, helping the franchise to back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026. In the IPL 2026 season, Bhuvneshwar was the second-highest wicket-taker with 28 scalps in 16 matches at an average of 17.89, with an economy rate of 7.95.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the Salute Tiranga Cricket League (STCL) Players Draft on Wednesday, Madan Lal said he was pleased with Bhuvneshwar’s return, attributing the recall to his strong IPL performances and ability to generate movement with the ball.
“I'm actually really happy for Bhuvneshwar because I like him. The reason he's come back is that he put in good IPL performances. And bowlers like that are always effective because they can generate movement with the ball. Whenever you're playing cricket, if you have movement—whether it's outswing or inswing—you're definitely going to get wickets. Sure, it's T20 cricket, and sometimes he might get hit, but he's definitely going to get wickets because he has that movement,” he said.
Madan Lal also praised Harmanpreet Kaur, who stepped down as the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team across all formats on Tuesday. Harmanpreet's decision comes after she guided India to the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026. 
Smriti Mandhana succeeds Harmanpreet during the tour of Zimbabwe from October 16 onwards, with the red-hot two-time Women's Premier League (WPL) winner for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) set to start a new chapter in her career.
Madan Lal congratulated Harmanpreet, praising her contribution to women’s cricket and saying she made the right decision by handing over the captaincy to Mandhana at the appropriate time.
“Congratulations to Harmanpreet Kaur because she has done really, really well. She has taken women's cricket to a whole new level. I like her decision. She made this decision at exactly the right time to pass the baton to Smriti Mandhana,” he said.
Madan Lal, who attended the STCL Players Draft event, said the Salute Tiranga Cricket League will give young players a platform to showcase their talent, with strong performances potentially helping them earn recognition from mentors and selectors and opportunities at academies or state-level teams.
“Salute Tiranga Cricket League is a platform where our youngsters will get a chance to show their talent. It really depends on how well they perform after showing their talent. If they play well, our mentors and selectors will definitely take notice. If they're good enough, they might even recommend them for an academy or a state-level team. I wouldn't say they'll recommend them for big cricket right away. Their path is still really long right now, so the most important thing is to just focus on performing first,” he said.