Widely regarded as one of the greatest exponents of swing bowling in limited-overs cricket, especially in T20s, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is earning rave reviews for his superb performances of late. Last month, the Uttar Pradesh cricketer was the stand-out performer for India in the five T20I games against South Africa at home, capturing the Player of the Series award after picking up 6 wickets in four matches, with the fifth and final clash between the two sides washed out due to rain in Bengaluru. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's six wickets also included a four-fer in the second T20I in Cuttack. On Thursday, Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced yet another excellent display of swing bowling as Team India beat England by 50 runs in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

While Hardik Pandya's performance with both bat and ball was the main factor behind the Men in Blue’s victory, Bhuveshwar Kumar was the man who started it by picking the all-important wicket of England Jos Buttler for a golden duck.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked sharp from the word go as he swung the ball from the start of the England innings, eventually finishing with figures of 1/10 in three overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s stunning display came in for rich praise from several former cricketers, including former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria who compared him with Mohammad Asif.

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar coming up with one great performance after another, several former cricketers are now lauding him for finding his best form months ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Wasim Jaffer, Ashley Giles, Michael Vaughan, Danish Kaneria, and even current England ODI and T20 skipper Jos Buttler are all in awe of his bowling and have called him an “absolute” certainty in India's T20 World Cup squad.

“In international cricket, a bowler who swings the ball will have most of the batters struggling, especially with the ball you don't see many bowlers swinging it but Bhuvi is a great exponent of it. He's been getting it right since he has come back to the side and it was great to see him producing a good performance against a quality batting line-up. I don't see any doubt in my mind that he's going to be in the World Cup squad. He's an absolute certainty,” Wasim Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.

“Will the ball swing as much in Australia? I don't know but if anybody swings it will be Bhuvi. I think he has inked his name into that World Cup squad already,” Ashley Giles added.

According to Danish Kaneria, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the modern-day master of inswing and can move the ball on almost every surface. Moreover, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s line and length were immaculate, to say the least, and that’s why he was able to trouble most batters with his deliveries, especially at a time when the conditions were in his favor.

“The ball that Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled to dismiss Jos Buttler at the start was a brilliant one. He moves the ball in the air and watching him bowl in England is even more fun. Because of the help he gets, he becomes a deadly bowler,” Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the master of inswingers, just like Mohammad Asif. His seam and swing is so impressive, he proves too good for batters at times,” Danish Kaneria added.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s resurgence was hailed by former India opener Aakash Chopra and ex-England captain Michael Vaughan as well. While Aakash Chopra said that the “old Bhuvi was back”, Michael Vaughan described him as one of the great Indian fast bowlers.

“The way Bhuvi clean bowled Buttler was fantastic. It’s almost like he has found his second wing. Six months ago, I had said that he may not be my first-choice swing bowler in T20 and one-day cricket. But in the past six to eight months, whenever you saw him, you felt he has reinvented the wheel, the old Bhuvi is back,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“There is accuracy, and wicket-taking ability and the ball is swinging. So Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also making his presence count,” Aakash Chopra pointed out.

“That’s the perfect display by India. With the bat there was aggression and they got to a good number. Then with the ball in the hand, the skill. The conditions can’t change so much within an hour or so. I don’t think that’s possible, it was just outstanding skill. Bhuvneshwar is up there with the great swing bowlers. He just got it hooping,” Michael Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.