The legendary Dale Steyn picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the MVP (Most Valuable Player) for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Virat Kohli has amassed 542 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 164.74. Devdutt Padikkal has also been impressive, scoring 412 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 173.11. However, Bhuvneshwar has been consistent throughout the season, setting the tone with the new ball in almost every game.
Bhuvneshwar, who has picked up 24 wickets in 13 matches and is leading the Purple Cap race, earned huge praise from former RCB stalwart Steyn. The cricketer-turned-expert called Bhuvneshwar an underrated cricketer, someone who isn’t flashy but does his job to perfection.
“When you look at the end of the season, this is the interesting part. He might not win the purple cap, but he’s going well. If RCB go on to win this championship, this IPL, they’ll look back, and they’ll say MVP, this guy, because all around what he does is pretty amazing. And I think every player wants to have this game; they want to go out there, take wickets, and then go out there and bang a six to win the game for your team. That’s special,” Steyn told AB de Villiers in the latter’s YouTube channel.
“He’s a proper cricket player, like he’s a really good cricket player, and I think he goes unseen a lot of the time because he’s got no frills about him. He’s got nothing special about him; he’s not big on social media, and he’s not pulling pieces of paper out of his pocket. He consistently lands the ball in the right area, doing just a little bit with the ball. He swings it this way, he swings it that way a little bit.
Steyn said that apart from being an outstanding fast bowler, Bhuvneshwar is a reliable fielder and a smart batter, capable of reading the game well.
“He’s a master little skillman, but then you see him on the field, he doesn’t drop catches, he doesn’t fumble the ball, and then when he comes out with the bat, he’s a very smart man. Like he’s a good batter too, he’s not a big six hitter. He’s not your SKY kind of hit the ball all around the ground, he’s a lower-order all-rounder, and he read the game too, which tells you again that he’s a smart cricketer because he knew exactly where the ball was going to get bowled,” Steyn added.
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On Sunday, Bhuvneshwar dismissed the dangerous opening duo of Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya with the new ball at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, which eventually helped the defending champions restrict Punjab Kings to 199/8 in pursuit pof a 223-run target.
