Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Bhuvneshwar Kumar to be part of India’s squad for the Cricket World Cup 2027, asserting that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should initiate discussions with experienced swing bowler. 

Ashwin believed even if Bhuvneshwar is not guaranteed a place in the final squad, maintaining open communication with a seasoned campaigner could prove crucial as the team evaluates all available options. 

Notably, India’s pace attack remains heavily dependent on Jasprit Bumrah, but whenever Bumrah is unavailable, the Indian bowling attack comes under pressure.

"Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a yes. I would communicate to him. Get him to play all the tournaments, first-class, Vijay Hazare, everything, and get him prime going to South Africa. I think we will need him there," Ashwin said on Cricinfo.

Bhuvneshwar has not featured for India since November 2022. His last appearance for India in ODIs came in January 2022. Overall, he has played 121 ODIs for India, claiming 141 wickets and scoring 552 runs. Meanwhile, Ashwin also shared his thoughts on India's probable World Cup squad, leaving out young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, wicketkeeper-batters Rishabh Pant, and Sanju Samson.

Ashwin, however, backed the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan in the batting group. In the all-rounder category, Ashwin showed faith in Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel, picking Kuldeep Yadav as his first-choice spinner. In the pace bowling, he included Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Harshit Rana. 

Ashwin was skeptical about Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna, placing them in ‘Maybe’ list.